When Lonely Hearts Meet
by Slightly Sinister Sinestra
Summary: What happens when you put cute, damaged, female pilot, Joffie Wheeler on the all male Creuset team? A lot of roaming eyes, and the developement of some unusual loyalties. OC warning. On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

When Lonely Hearts Meet

By: Slightly Sinester Sinestra

Disclaimer: If I owned, things would be very different, but sadly, I don't!

Summary: What happens when you put cute, tough ,_ female_ ace pilot, Joffie Wheeler on the all-male Creuset Team? A lot of roaming eyes! OC and ?

Rating: K+

Yzak Jule strode angrily down the corriders of the battleship, the Versalius. _Stupid, perfect Zala! With his oh-so-beutiful fiance! It's not like I couldn't get a girl, it's just I don't want one!_

Still fuming, he stormed into his and Dearka Elsman's room, and flopping down on his bed, he continued his grumbling until an alert went for a meeting. _GREAT! I have to be in the same room as that... that...BASTARD! _He stood and stormed to the meeting room, almost running over the source of all his troubles, Athrun Zala.

Rau le Creuset waited paitently for his team to assemble. The four teens eventually arranged themselves with Athrun at one end of the line and Yzak at the other. He snorted mentaly at this subtle display of childish behaviour.

'At ease!' he ordered and waited until all four boys had lowered their hands. 'Now I know losing Rusty was hard, ' he said, staring very hard at Athrun. The boy cringed under the masked gaze. ' But his replacement is on the way to space.'

'Re...replacment?' they stammered.

'Yes and,' he smirked '_she_ will be arriving tomorrow.' Smiling in a satisfied way at their faces, he walked out.

'We're getting a GIRL on our team?' Yzak yelled, sounding disgusted.

'Well, I'm sure she's a good pilot.' Nicol piped up. Athrun stayed silent, almost hating this total stranger for taking Rusty's place.

Slowly, a pair of blue-green eyes fluttered open. The terrible smell of a sterile ward reaching the girl's nostrils. She groaned and sat up, taking in her surroundings. Confusion filled her as she racked her brains, trying to remember where she was and how she'd got there.

Suddenly, an image leapt into her mind: A huge explosion, an out of reach shelter and then a flash of red hair as 'Spock' leapt on top of her, shielding her with his body.

A boy with black hair, Nathaniel, thanking her with his last breath for helping him to paradise. A round from his gun in his shoulder, a round from her's in his heart.

A girl with light blue hair, Lucy, screaming her brother's, Spock's, name as the building came crashing down on her.

Her team, her friends, all dead because the Naturals couldn't stand that something was better? With a cry of rage and pain, she reached into a cabinet and pulled out a gun. Aiming it at her head, she made to pull the trigger when a male voice shouted;

'NO!' and a pair of strong hands grabbed her wrists, forcing her to drop the gun.

'NO! My friends are dead, everyone I care about is dead, so_ why do I have to live?_' she screamed through her tears.

' Because _that's_ the true battle, to keep living! You swore to protect your country and your people! You're alive for a reason, you need to find that reason!' he yelled struggling to hold her. She fell limp against him and he let her go.

Slowly she turned and looked at the man. He was tall, with a wide strong build and long, brown hair tied in a ponytail. He looked about 34-40 years if she was any judge.

'Thank you...um...?' she faltered.

He smiled. 'Lieutenant Jay Martin.'

'Thank you, Lt. Martin.' She gave him a smile that almost outshone the dead look in her eyes. 'You're welcome, Ensign Wheeler.'

'How did you...' She started, but to her surprise he was already gone. Tilting her head confusedly, she stared at the spot he'd stood in.

'Ensign Wheeler, you're awake!' a voice boomed, causing her to spin 'round and go into a defensive stance. She then recognised him as a ZAFT soldier, and straightened up to salute.

'Don't you salute, Ensign, there's no need.' He laughed. 'How are ya feelin'?' 'Fine, I guess,' she murmured. 'Fine enough to go to a meeting?' 'I guess.' He looked her over. 'Great, then get outta that hospital outfit and into your uniform.' She stared at him, trying to figure out why he was so cheerful. Then she picked up her uniform and stepped into the shower room.

15 minutes later, she stepped out again, looking much neater with her long purple hair pinned behind her head in a plait. The annoyingly cheerful soldier was _still_ there, waiting for her. He showed her to the meeting room, watching in an amused way as she fiddled with the stiff neck of her red uniform. 'Here we are, Ensign,' he said, mock bowing. She raised her eyebrows, and walked into the room.

'Ah, Ensign Wheeler!' A man in the purple uniform of a Council member said, looking up at her. Instantly she saluted. 'First off, we'd like to make a presentation,' he continued, picking up a box and striding up to her. Slowly, he opened it to reveal an Order of the Nebula award. She stared at it, stunned. 'For your high performance in the Petersburg battle, I award you with the Order of the Nebula,' he stated, pinning it to her chest. 'Congratulations, Ensign!'

'Th...thank you, Sir,' she stuttered. 'Secondly, you are being transfered to space, to serve under the command of Commander Rau le Creuset. Once you arrive, you'll recieve our newest mobile suit, the ZGMF XO8A Caliber Gundam. Understood?'

'Yes Sir!' she stated, saluting. 'Dismissed!' She turned on her heel and strode out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own, still hate the directer!

I'd also like to say **THANK YOU!** Thanks to the reviewers, I can now continue this story with your support. Anyway, on with Chapter 2.

Tired emerald eyes shot open as the battle alert sounded. Athrun groaned and jumped out of bed. It was probably the 'Legged ship' they were going after and that would mean fighting _him!_ Moaning in frustation, he pulled on his flight suit, grabbed his helmet and ran to the GAT-X303 Aegis GUNDAM. 'This is Athrun Zala on Aegis launching!' He shouted.

Sure enough, as soon as he was out, he saw the legged ship looming in front of him. Strike and the mobile armour were already on the field. _Kira. _Athrun shook himself, acting the way he was would get him killed. 'All right, I'm going after their engines! Nicol, cover me?' He shouted, swallowing the tears threathing to fall. _Kira, why did you leave me too?_ Nicol's cheery voice answered: 'Sure thing, Athrun!'

Athrun nodded and lunged forward.

'Athrun don't you dare!' came the voice of the person he'd once dared call friend. Strike stepped in front of him, sabre raised. Athrun brought up his shield, but couldn't, _wouldn't _attack back. Nicol fired around him, at Kira, but the white MS dodged. Breathing hard, he yelled: 'Nicol, handle him, all right?' Nicol's voice held no cheer now, Athrun knew the younger pilot was worried about him, but never the less he answered: 'OK!' and attacked Strike again. Turning to his other team-mates, he shouted: 'Dearka, handle the mobile armour, Yzak, you come with me!'

'What? Who made you the leader?' Yzak demanded. Athrun growled, he didn't have the energy for this. 'Just move!' he snarled. Yzak growled, but moved round to him.

Joffie Wheeler was preparing to board, from her shuttle, onto the Versalius when the shuttle's sudden jerking threw her off balance. She turned to look out the front window. 'Jeezus!' she yelled as her shuttle barely dodged a stray blast from the battle going on in front of her. Running to the co-pilots chair, she grabbed the mike. 'You just concentrate on dodging.' She told the pilot, smiling reasuringly. He nodded and she contacted the Versalius. 'Commander le Creuset, this is Ensign Joffie Wheeler of ZAFT, please allow our shuttle to dock as we are unequiped for combate.'

'Ensign Wheeler, I do not have time to let you dock.' came her calm reply.

'Sir, I really must insiste, at least send out the O8A for me!'

'I have no spare pilots,Ensign.' Jo couldn't belive this, what was the man playing at? Did he _want_ them to die?

'Sir, I honestly don't care _how_ you do it, just do _something_ right now!' she practically screamed down the mike as the pilot pulled off another spectacular dodge.

Creuset's reply was hard and cold. 'I don't like your tone Ensign, but as you've not offically joined my team yet, you've avoided punishment...' Jo cut him short, training told her talking to her commander like this was wrong, but the will to stay alive overrode it. 'Great! Now about getting us out of this mess?' She could almost see the smirk on her commander's face, 'I'll attempt to send the 08A out to you Ensign.'

10 minutes later, she saw a grey mobile suit floating towards them. Jamming on her helmet, she gave the pilot a reassuring smile. 'Don't die on me!' He winked and inched closer to the mobile suit. Breathing hard, she pushed out the door and into the open cockpit of Caliber. Starting up the machine, making sure the PS armour was up and buckling the restraints, she took off towards the battle. Contacting her new commander again, she asked 'Who are my allies?' 'The red, the yellow-brown, the black and the silver,' came the reply. 'Right,' she muttered, and drew her sabre.

Nicol knew he probably wasn't able to handle Strike on his own. However, he also knew Athrun couldn't handle Strike _at all_. The other pilot was acting strange, hesitant. He wondered why. 'Nicol! Look out!' Dearka's voice cut through his thoughts. By then, however, Strike's sword was inches away. He was dead, he knew it. But Strike's blade made contact with another. A strange black-n-green MS forced Strike back. 'Huh?' 'This is Ensign Joffie Wheeler of ZAFT!' a female voice sounded. 'Eyes on the battle, idiot!' He flinched at the comment, but acknowledged that she was right.

Yzak listened to her transmission. _Ensign_ Joffie Wheeler? But she sounded so young, not to mention she was a _girl_! 'Nicol, swap places, leave Strike to me!' he yelled, not wanting some _girl_ who had no idea of _anything_ to take out Strike. And she _was_ doing well. To his amazement, she started forcing Strike back towards him. 'Hit him when he's distracted by me!' she yelled at him. He smirked, time to distroy that stupid natural!

Athrun watched in mounting horror as Yzak and the new girl ganged up on Kira. Kira didn't have the experience to deal with them._ Kira, why do you have to fight against ZAFT? What do I do? Someone, tell me what to do!_ Squeezing his eyes shut, he made up his mind and transformed the Aegis.

Jo watched in amazement as the red MS grabbed the white one and pulled it out of her reach. 'Isn't the white mobile suit our enemy?' she asked, confused. 'ATHRUN! What do you think you're doing!' the pilot of the silver MS praticaly screamed.She winced.'I'm capturing the Strike.' came a calm reply.

'We're ordered to distroy it! Hell, even _she_ knows that!' Jo blinked, _Weren't these guys ment to be a team? _

She followed the others back towards the Versalius. The mobile armour came out of nowhere, attacking the red MS. 'Mobile armour? Nobody told me there was a mobile armour!' Jo shouted angrily. Nobody listened to her.

'Athrun!' the pilot of the black MS screamed.

'Uggh, damnit!' the pilot of the red MS...Athrun? yelled, releasing the white MS and giving chase to the mobile armour. The white MS made its way back to the enemy ship. 'He's mine!' the pilot of the silver MS screamed chasing after it. Something shot out of the enemy ship, which the white Ms grabbed. Her eyes widened. 'No, stop you idiot!' she screamed, but had to shut her eyes at the crunch of metal.

'Pull back guys, our power won't hold out much longer.' someone said. She opened her eyes and made her way back to the Versalius.

'You stupid bastard!' Athrun flinched, as Yzak slammed him into the wall of the locker room. 'Are you out of your mind? Interferring for no reason!' Yzak had not been hurt in the battle,_ miracle if there ever was one,_ but his pride was badly bruised, and that meant someone else, usually Athrun, got badly bruised. 'Quite the little disaster, and all because _you_ had to disobey orders!' Dearka added, backing Yzak up like always. Athrun looked away from them, at the new girl, hoping for support, but she said nothing. She merely hovered behind Yzak, looking half confused and half annoyed.

Suddenly, the door slid open to admit the fourth member of the team, Nicci. He stood at the door for a moment, then pushed into the room, looking annoyed. 'What are you doing? This isn't the place. Stop it!' Athrun felt gratitude swell for the green-haired boy.

'We went out with four machines! Then she came and made five. And we still couldn't get him! It's too humiliating for words!' Yzak yelled, tightening his hands on Athrun's collar. Athrun fought the urge to whimper. 'Yes, well, I don't see how hurting one another will solve anything,' the girl interupted in a low but forceful voice. 'That means you let him go!' she added to Yzak.

All four boys stared at her in shock. Athrun tried to decide if he should thank her now, or wait until Yzak was gone and it was safer. But Yzak wasn't releasing him. Nicol growled, startling them almost as much as the girl had. 'Yzak, you can take it out on Athrun all you want, but it won't change anything, will it?' Yzak humphed, but pushed him away and made to leave, Dearka behind him.

After the door closed, Jo turned to look at the two boys still in the room, more than a little confused. 'What was that about?' she asked. 'Athrun ... do you want to...?'asked Nicol, hesitantly. 'Just leave me alone, OK!' he spat, leaving as well.

'Um, sorry about that. I don't know what's wrong with him.' Nicol shrugged at her apologetically. 'No worries,' she replied, warming to the friendly young man. 'Maybe you should take me to Commander Creuset? And explain what the hell is going on?' 'Sure,' he smiled, leading her out into the now deserted corridor. 'So? What's the story?' He grimaced. 'You saw what Athrun did out there. Yzak was just a little upset, perhaps justifiably. Athrun's a little weird right now. just leave him alone.'

'You don't know why he ...?' 'No! He won't tell me anything! He never does! He just lets things tear him apart!' Nicol practically screamed. Jo froze.

_'Don't worry, Jo! I'll be fine. Just run!' The older boy could hardly stand, she could see it. She may have been only fourteen, but she was neither blind nor stupid. She knew how hurt he was, and how scared. 'No! Zach, come with me! You need a doctor! Come on, please!'_

_The terror in her brother's eyes never left, but he did all he could to hide it, not showing what he felt, but letting it rip him apart inside. 'Just go, Jo! I won't let them hurt you, not ever!' he yelled, shoving her away so she got caught in the tide of fleeing people. She heard the scream as the gun sounded, lost in the seething crowds. She never saw her brother again._

'Here we are,' Nicol said, bringing her back to the present. 'Hey, are you alright?' She blinked. 'Oh, um, fine. Thanks, ...?' he smiled. 'Nicol. Nicol Amalfi. You're welcome.' 'Call me Jo. Everyone does,' she said, turning into the little room.

'Ah, Ensign Wheeler!' Her new commander stated, smiling. 'Sir!' She saluted smartly. 'Haven't you changed yet?' he asked. 'No! There are four boys in that room!' She went scarlet, whether with embarrasment or fury, even she wasn't sure. 'Well, that's the only changing room we've got, so you'll have to work something out.' She stared at her amused commander in horror.

'How was the XO8A?' he asked mildly. 'F .. Fine!' she said, snapping out of her stupor. 'Good, good. I'll have the others show you around,' he said, turning to summon the rest of his team. They arrived some ten minutes later, minutes Jo spent wondering about the sanity of those on her new team. Even the commander seemed just a touch unhinged. The only changing room...?

Le Creuset smirked at the newly arrived boys. 'I see you havn't changed either. Too worried about doing it in front of a girl, I suppose?' He took obvious enjoyment in their discomfort. 'You'll have to get over that, all of you. For now, I want you to show her 'round the ship and take her to her quarters. _After_ you all get changed.' They left, blushing to a man. Or girl.

'If any one of you looks at me, you are ALL dead! Do you hear me!' Jo snarled, her suit at her waist. 'Sure thing, little lady!' the blonde (Dearka) smirked. Eying her revealed stomach (the stupid regulation tee-shirt was too short!), he didn't seem particularly concerned with her threat. 'Pervert,' she muttered, turning away. Not really a great welcome to her new home, but what could you do?


	3. Chapter 3

OK, ladies and gentlemen, loooong chapter.

Chapter 3

Jo sat in a shuttle beside Athrun. It had been three days since she'd arrived on the Creuset team and now she was headed for PLANT with Creuset, Athrun and the defence chairman Patrick Zala. She hated councils, but Rau had assured her she wouldn't have to speak, she would just have to be there.

Athrun felt extreamly nervous in front of his father nowadays. He wished he didn't have to speak at the council, not in front of the man. A soft bump on his shoulder startled him. 'Hey!' he yelled, turning to see Jo's head resting on his shoulder. The girl didn't answer, in fact she seemed to have dozed off. She made an indistinct sound and her hand closed around his coat sleave.

'Is there a problem?' came his commander's voice. His head snapped up and a light blush stained his features as the eyes of the older men locked on him. 'S...she fell asleep.' he muttered, lowering his eyes.

'I see' his father said, turning away. Rau also turned, but he felt nervous at that twisted smirk. Jo mumbled something about death into his shoulder. He rolled his eyes and turned to look out window.

Jo blinked slightly in the light. Someone was shaking her shoulder._ 'Hey Jo, wake up!'_ 'Wh-wha'?' she muttered, sleepily. _'Come on! You'll be late! Don't want to end up on Dropout's squad, do ya?' _'Shadup Lucy. I'm comin'!' _'Hurry up then! I think I've aged 50 years!' _Jo responded by giving her hair a playful tug. 'Oh, yeah. I can see the grey in your hair. Blue to grey in minutes! Amazing!' Lucy tugged her hair free. 'It has not!' 'Has too!' The two girls glared at each other, then fell apart, giggling.

'Jo! Wake up!' 'Huh? I'm up, Lucy!' Athrun felt the eyes of the men on him again, and his face flushed. 'I'm not a girl,' he hissed. Jo's eyes fluttered open and she groaned. 'Hey, we're here!' Her eyes widened as she realised where she was, and she snapped her head up off Athrun's shoulder as if it was red hot. He was pleased to see a light tinge to her cheeks as well. 'S ... sorry!' she muttered.

Commander Creuset had rattled on about the importance of the mobile suits, and other things she really hadn't paid attention to. However, she was envious of Athrun's ability to stand up and speak so clearly, not to mention calmly, to the Council. She grinned at him as he sat back down, and was rewarded with a small smile in return.

Rau looked at Athrun as the boy talked with Chairman Clyne. Then he looked over at Joffie, who was at his side. Suddenly, she looked up and met his eyes, smiling. He swallowed at the sight of that smile. No soldier should smile like that.

'What's with the mask, Sir?' she asked. Rau turned away slightly. 'That is none of your business, Ensign.' She blinked. 'Oh, touchy subject, huh? By the way, call me Joffie.' She was smiling again. His eyes widened behind their glass shields. 'Or you could even call me Jo, if you want? I just don't like being called Ensign.' He nodded, gazing down at the old eyes set in that young face in wonder.

'Yello?' 'Jo, it's Athrun. We're supposed to report back to the base.' She looked at her cell in surprise. 'Huh? But we aren't due to leave for another three days!' 'Don't ask. I'll meet you outside. I'm driving.' She shrugged. 'OK, you're the boss.'

'As you know, Ms Clyne was attending the memorial service on Junius 7. She went missing after the ship was attacked. No remains have been recovered, so we assume she is alive. She has yet to be found.' Athrun stared at his father, stunned. Lacus, missing? No remains. Trust his father to say something like that. 'No way!' said Jo, suddenly. She shook her head slowly, looking about as horrified as Athrun felt. 'Ensign?' Rau asked.

_'Hey, do you wike my fower? It's pink, wike your hair. I'm Joffie, what's your name?' 'I'm lacus. Wow, my fower matches your hair!' 'Hey, you're wite! Do you wanna sit wit me.' 'Can I? Really?' 'Ya, come on!' 'Wow, tanks!'_

'Ensign, Jo, are you alright?' She looked up at the three men. 'Are you alright?' Rau asked again, sounding concerned. She took a deep breath, calming herself. 'Yes sir, I'm fine. Sorry.' Rau looked at her, still concerned. She managed a smile. 'Really sir, I'm fine.' He nodded and they turned to salut the chairman. 'Dismissed' he ordered. They nodded, and boarded the Versalius.

Jo sat in Caliber, feeling very worried. She contacted Athrun. 'Is this really the right thing, Zala?' Athrun looked surprised. She lowered her eyes. 'If we find Lacus in the battle, chances are, she could be killed.' Athrun nodded. 'I know, but if we ignore the Legged ship, not only does it pose a threat to us, but if she's found, to Lacus as well' Jo smiled weakly and nodded. 'This is Ensign Joffie Wheeler on Caliber, Launching!'

The adrenalin rush and her strategic mind left no place for fear. No matter what, you took down what was in front of you. On a battlefield to hesitate is to die. To fear is to die. Which was why Athrun was standing in his grave. He had the power and skill to take out Strike, but the idiot kept hesitating. 'Zala! For crissake, do you want to die?' No answer. She shook her head. If he does want to, that's his problem.

That annoying mobile armour would not leave her alone. Jeez, why wouldn't the guy just die! However, that being said, they _were_ actually doing a lot of damage. Hey, we keep this up, we might actually win.

'Attention ZAFT forces! This is Ensign Natarle Badgiruel of the Archangel!' Jo glanced up, confused. 'We are currently holding Lacus Clyne onboard this ship. If you persist in the attack, her safety cannot be guaranteed.'

'No, Lacus!' Jo screamed, her voice mingling with Athrun's. What came next was a blur afterwords. She went foreward, Strike dodged around Athrun and fired. Her visor shattered, Glass splinteres imbedding themselves in her face.

'JO! Kira, you bastard!' Athrun yelled in horror. 'Jo, are you OK?' He opened a link. Jo's hands covered her face, bubbles of blood drifting round the cockpit. She was screaming in agony. He cringed and made the Aegis grab Caliber. 'Kira, I swear I'll rescue Lacus and make you pay!' he shouted angrily before heading back to the Versalius.

'Jo,' a soft, soothing voice whispered. It wasn't Athrun's, Commander Creuset was lifting her gently out of her cockpit. 'Don't worry, you're fine. I promise.' She relaxed into those strong arms and passed out.

Opening her eyes was difficult, one didn't seem to work. Raising her hand to her head, she felt the bandages covering the left side of her face. It hurt like hell.' Strike, you've just made yourself a very dangerous enemy!' The blurry room indicated her long side-fringe was in the way. She found her clips and pinned it securly out of the way. Swinging her legs out of the bed, she set about putting her uniform on. Now, putting on a uniform in very little gravity with _two_ eyes is very hard, but, as she soon found out, with one, it's almost impossible. Grumbling, she found her way to the bridge.

'Sir, I really don't think sending Athrun out is a good idea.' 'I did not ask for your opinion, Captian.' 'But sir...' 'Send him out and prepare my mobile suit for combat!'

'Sir?' a female voice questioned. Dispite himself, Rau was starting to love the sound of it. 'Ensi...' 'I've already told you sir, call me Jo.' she laughed, a beautiful sound, almost alien to him. 'Very well: Jo, you should still be in bed, you're injuried.' She smiled again, 'No, I'm fine. Is Caliber repaired?' 'En...Jo, I'll discuss this later, now I really must go.' He turned and walked towards the door. He hated what Strikes pilot had done to her face, it had been the only part of her that was still young, so soft and gentle, now scared by war.

'I'll stay here, sir.' she said floating over to Cpt. Ades. He nodded, 'You do that, Jo.' She gave him a soft, innocent smile, and for maybe the first time in his life, Rau le Creuset blushed.

Athrun felt like shit, this bastard had betrayed his people, used Lacus as trading material and injuried Jo, so why couldn't he shoot him? _Because it's Kira, you idiot. He's your friend!_ He swallowed, 'Kira, come back with us!' The older boy looked confused. 'You're a coordinator, you've got no business in the EA! Fight _with_ me, not_ against_ me!' Kira looked close to tears, 'I have no wish to...fight you. But my friends are onboard that ship!' Athrun's head was spinning. Those murderous, natural _bastards_ mattered more to Kira? 'Your _friends_? Then what does that make me?' he practicly shrieked.

'Athrun..I..' 'Well if that's the way you want it, fine! Next time, I won't hesitate to shoot you!' Kira looked stunned, then angry. 'Fine!' he shouted.

Lacus glanced at her fiance. His body was ridged with anger. Kira would probably cry when he went back to the Archangel, Athrun would bottle it up. Half of her wanted to hug Athrun, the other half wanted to hit him. The sound of another MS launching interrupted her thoughts.

'Did you honestly think I'd let you get away boy! Not after you injuried a member of my team!' Rau le Creuset sounded angry, very, very angry. And, who was injuried? Not Athrun anyway. Still, though, they'd promised not to attack. 'Commander Creuset, back down!' she barked. The commander growled, but did so, grudgingly.

'ATHRUN!' a little pink ball cried, zooming down the corridor towards the blue-haired teen. He caught it moments before it made contact with his face. 'Haro!' his pink-haired fiance called after it. Athrun closed his eyes with a long-suffering sigh. Why oh why did he keep making these things? Considering he'd already almost finished a new mechanical nuisance. There were times when he seriously doubted his own sanity. 'Haro's over-excited, he's happy to see you!' Lacus smiled. Of course, there was no doubt about _her_ sanity. Everyone knew she'd lost it years ago.

'Haro doesn't have any emotive components, Lacus. He's just wired strangely.' Lacus eyed him carefully. He sighed. 'The Versalius is a battleship, Lacus. Although you are a guest, it would be better if you didn't wander around. Please, lets get you back to your quarters.' He took her by the arm and gently guided her back to her room.

Jo floated hurridly down the corridors of the Versalius. Commander Creuset had said they'd taken Lacus onboard and given her the room number. Thank God Lacus was safe.

She was just about to knock on the door, when it opened. Athrun was standing in front of her, practically glowing with rage. 'I can't exactly fight a war with a big smile on my face Lacus.' he growled coldly to the girl inside the room. She flattened herself against the wall to avoid losing her other eye to his elbow. 'What's his problem?' she asked, startled and slightly annoyed.

Lacus jumped at the sound of that oh-so-familiar voice. '_Jo?_' she stammered, 'What are_ you_ doing _here_?' Jo was still staring after Athrun, but Lacus could see a smile curving on her lips. 'Me? I'm in the army. What're _you_ doing here?' She answered, sounding amused. Lacus smiled slightly. _Same old Jo._ 'My memorial ship was att...OH MY GOD! JO WHAT_ HAPPENED?_' She found herself screaming, as the younger girl turned to face her, revealing the bandages. Jo shrugged, 'Just a little screw up in the battle L'. It's alright.'

Lacus pushed herself over to the other girl, and cupped the injuried face in her hands. 'This isn't _alright_ Jo!' Jo looked at her. Lacus looked at her remaining eye. It was like a pool of sapphire, with glints of emerald. As sad, as deep and as old as the ocean. Jo was _fifteen_! Her eyes were not meant to be like that. Lacus wrapped her in a hug, hoping to ease some of her friend's pain. Jo stiffened momenteraly, the began sobbing uncontrolably into her shoulder. Lacus rocked her, unsure of what to say. What_ could_ she say? Nothing! No, it was better just to let her cry. 'I'm here Jo, I'm right here.' she whispered softly.

Athrun watched as Jo and Lacus embraced. A familiar pang of pain pierced his chest. _Kira..._ 'Don't either of you die on me!' Lacus' voice startled him. 'I won't, don't you worry 'bout me L'.' Jo said, smiling. Athrun merely nodded. Lacus boarded her shuttle, and was soon gone. Jo turned to him. 'We'd better get ready. We're going to hit the legged ship before it hits earth.' He nodded again, and they began walking towards their 'only' changing room.

Walkinng towards the hanger, Athrun stopped (Very hard to do in very little gravity). 'Hey Jo,' he said. She turned to face him, looking surprised. 'Ya?' He looked at her face, she'd lost an eye because of him! 'I made you this, seeing as it's my fault you're injuried.' he said, holding out a two-tone purple mouse. Jo's face split into a wide grin as she took it from him. 'Oh, he's so _cute_!' she squealed. _What was it with girls and the word 'cute'?_ 'What's his or her name?' 'It's a boy, but I haven't named him.' 'Oh, in that case, I'll call him 'Luch'!' Athrun stared at her. 'Luck?' Jo shook her head. 'L-U-C-H, luch. It's irish for mouse. I can't remember where I picked that up though.'

Athrun stared at her. Jo was almost like Lacus, but with a tougher, more kick-ass attitude and haunted eyes. (Sorry: eye!) Another person he could safely call friend. Kira...

Once on the battle field, Jo contacted Yzak. She needed to make sure he knew the mission. The minute the visual was up, however, she gasped and forgot everything.

Yzak stared at Jo. The entire left side of her face was covered with bandages. She seemed to be concerned with the fact that the right side of_ his_ face was in the same condition. 'What the_ HELL_ happened to you!' he yelled, surprised to hear her yell the same words at exactly the same time. 'Strike's pilot,' they both answered together. Now that was strange. Yzak stared as Jo blushed. 'Don't get caught in the atmosphere, Yzak. We've got to take out the Legged Ship before it hits Earth,' she stated, recovering herself. 'Right! I don't need you to tell me that, little lady.' Stupid move. Why had he just called her by that stupid nickname Dearka gave her? She seemed surprised, but then, to his amazement, she blushed and closed the link.

Kira launched from the Archangel and looked around. Both Duel and Caliber were back in action. He squeezed his eyes shut as he saw Athrun was there to. The five of them had completely annihilated the 8th fleet; only the wreckage of the ships remained. He was soon forced out of his reflections as Duel attacked, completely ignoring the atmosphere in the pilot's lust for battle. Duel fought as if possessed, and no matter how hard Kira fought, he couldn't gain any ground.

Yzak was furious. That damned pilot had injured both himself and, more importantly, Jo. He was going to die for that, no matter what Yzak had to do to accomplish it. Strike pulled away as a shuttle launched from the Archangel. Duel fired at the retreating MS, but the proximity of the atmosphere ruined his shot. The beam took out the shuttle instead. He froze. He hadn't meant to do that. Strike was one thing, but a retreating shuttle ... that shouldn't have happened. Now, however, was not the time to think about this. Duel began to shake violently, and the heat in the cockpit was climbing alarmingly. 'Shit!' he shouted, as the atmosphere sucked him in, and he began to plumet towards Earth. 'YZAK! DEARKA!' He heard as the communicator fried.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own, I never will own, so don't sue.

Hiya, just sayin' thanks to the reviewers and askin' could you please keep reviewin'. Hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 4

Jo sat in Caliber, stunned. Yzak and Dearka were...dead? And... the Gamow... had been... destroyed? How many more coordinators had to be killed before the naturals were satisfied? Yzak...Dearka...why? 'Jo? Jo, look at me!' came Athrun's voice. She glanced at the screen. 'You're too close to the athmosphere! Pull away and retreat!' She nodded numbly and hit the thrusters. Why...did the naturals...have to...kill all coordinators?

Rau watched his remaining team climb down from their cockpits. Nicol looked shaken and Athrun's face was carefully blank. But Jo...she looked ready to cry. Why was he staring at her? Why would he care if she was in pieces over minor casulties? This was war, people died, fact! But still, she was so young. He watched Nicol hug her. 'Don't worry, Little Lady, Yzak's to stubborn to die and he won't let Dearka die either.' That was true, he'd check for them later.

'"ZAFT's Bloodstained Angel", cute little thing, ain't she?' a highly amused voice said, bringing him out of his thoughts. He whipped round, meeting the twinkling blue eyes of Jay Martin. (AN: remember him from the 1st chapter.) 'What do you want? I'm in no mood for you!' Rau barked. Jay looked slightly annoyed. 'That's the thanks I get for checkin' up on ya?' Rau looked down slightly, 'I know you, what are you here for?'

'I want a favour.' Rau looked up, confused. 'Would you take care of Jo? Please.' Rau shrugged. 'She's a soldier, she chose this life, she chose to put herself at risk. Why should I take care of her?' Jay stiffened, 'If you don't care, why do you stare at her like she really is an angel?' Rau looked away slightly. How could he answer that? Damn Jay! How come he always knew what he was feeling?

'Just take care of her, please. For me.' Rau looked up and nodded. Jay smiled. 'Thanks.' And then he was gone, like every other time, he just disappered. Rau sighed.

'Sir?' came Athrun's calm, soft-spoken voice. Rau clenched his teeth. Why was the boy so bloody calm? 'Athrun, why weren't you helping Yzak hold off Strike?' he asked, his voice very calm. Athrun's face remained blank, not so much as a flicker of emotian crossed his eyes. 'I believed Yzak could handle the situation.' 'You belived wrong and now two team members may be dead.' Rau kept his voice calm. Athrun's hands were gripping his gloves, but his face remained the same. 'I did not realise the trouble until it was to late.'

'Sir,' came Jo's voice. 'The trouble was not apparent until nothing could be done about it.' Rau glanced at her. Her lips formed a tight line across her face. Her look said, '_Leave Athrun alone! You know it's not his fault!_' Rau blinked, how many soldiers could look at their commanding officer like that? 'We're heading back to the PLANTs, I'll call a meeting when we arrive. Dismissed!' he said. The teens turned sharply and walked out.

Rau growled in frustration. Where was his team? The alert for a meeting had sounded ten minutes ago, for crissake. This would have to be doe the hard way. He strode out of the room and headed towards the sleeping quarters.

Half-way there, he stopped. The shower was going in one of the public bathrooms. He sighed, stupid teenagers. 'Athrun, Nicol!' He ordered and opened the door. A second later, he flew backwards into the wall.

'YOU PERVERT!' He glanced up, to see Jo standing in front of him, wearing nothing but a fluffy peach towel. A one-in-three chance. This was not going to look to good on his record!

'Co...commander?' Jo gasped, pulling her towel tighter. Rau struggled to regain his composure. 'Ensign,' _Damn, you're cute when you're angry. I did NOT just think that! Look away, Rau, look AWAY!_ 'Ensign, I called a meeting.' 'Uh-huh, but if you don't look away from my chest, neither of us are going to make it!' _God, was I looking at her chest? I'm not perverted, I can't have been! _'I'll be there in a minute!' She snapped and the door slid closed, leaving Rau in a daze. _Teenage boys, I can handle, but one girl, and already I'm slipping up! God, Soldiers shouldn't have to deal with this!_

He turned, and came face-to-face with Athrun. The boy looked stunned. 'What did you see?' Rau barked. Athrun swallowed and looked down. 'One word, Zala, just one, and everyone is going to know about Kira!' Athrun nodded. 'Meeting room, now.' Athrun started to follow, when Jo stomped out of the shower room. The tempreture in the hall seemed to drop to below zero.

'Wohoo! I got some free time!' Jo yelled happily, practicly flying off the Versalius. The other two stepped down more slowly. 'Come _on_ guys, at least _act _like you're pleased!' she squealed. Nicol huffed. 'I _am_ happy, Little Lady.' Jo grinned, grabbed his hands and started spinning him around. 'Then show it!' she laughed. Athrun rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm.

'You're still in a military base!' he hissed. Jo grinned at him, trying to look innocent. 'Stop being so uptight!' she pouted. 'Then stop being such an idiot!' he shot back. 'That's mean. Nicci, he's bein' mean to me!' she whined, faking a lisp. Athrun winced.

'What is going on?' came Creuset's voice. 'Sir!' they all said, snapping a salut. Rau surveyed them, they looked perfectly respectable now. 'We're leaving again in a few weeks. Please get some rest.' They nodded and turned to leave.

'Hey guys, I've managed to organise a piano recital, wanna come along? I want some support.' Nicol said, on the way out. Jo annd Athrun grinned and nodded. Nicol beamed.

Jo hated these chairs. Was it a rule of concert halls? Chairs have to be uncomfortable. Ah well, what can ya do?

Athrun was sitting next to her. The other pilot looked exhausted. Y'know, with his long dark hair and emerald eyes, Athrun really was quite cute. But even as she stared, the dark hair morphed into silver and the green eyes turned a wonderful icey blue. Her face heated up._ I hardly know that guy! Ever since I found out he was still alive, I've been having fantisies. Yzak Jule is loud, violent and...really, really cute. JO! Stop thinking about this!_

Nicol looked out at the audience with a bright smile. It grew when he saw Athrun and Jo in the front row...although, Athrun looked half asleep and Jo was oddly red in the face. Shrugging, he made his way to the piano and sat down.

The ivory keys looked inviting, and as he started playing, the horrors of war seemed far away. It was just him, the music and his friends.

Jo glanced up as the music started. It was soft and beautiful, sounding very wrong, but oddly...right for her war torn world. Nicci's hands were made for this, for the healing music, not to destroy. She closed her eye and let the music close all her open wounds.

Athrun tried to keep his eyes open, but it was so hard. He was so tired and the music was so relaxing. Jo didn't seem to notice his head landing on her shoulder.

Jo opened her eye at the soft bump on her shoulder. She looked down to see Athrun's head resting there. He was fast asleep. She shook her head as Luch curled up in his hair. At that instant, Nicci stopped playing. The hall burst into applause. Athrun slept right through it. Tears formed in his closed eyes.

'Why? Why are you in the EA? Why are you fighting against me? I don't...want to...kill you!' he mumbled, his voice muffled by her shoulder.

'Athrun, you'll never have to kill any of us,' _Well, maybe Yzak._ 'We'll always fight with you.' she whispered, soothingly. '_Kira_, please don't make me kill you!' _Kira? Who's Kira?_ 'Athrun?' she asked. His eyes opened a fraction. Seeming to realise where his head was, his eyes flew open and he jumped up. Luch went flying.

All attention turned on them.

Athrun stared at his shoes, trying to will the glares to turn away. Jo turned in her seat, 'I'm sorry, is something wrong?' he heard her ask. Several muffled comments followed, but he could feel the eyes leave him. Jo turned back around. 'Didn't see where Luch went, did you?' He shook his head. 'I'm sorry, I think you dropped this,' came Nicol's voice. Jo beamed at him, and took her mouse back. 'Thanks Nicci.'

Jo walked into the military base. Her leave was up, and now she was being sent back to earth. She sighed. 'Jo! Jo, wait up!' She turned round and saw Lacus running over. The minute the pink-haired girl reached her, Jo found herself being hugged. Lacus was nearly in tears. 'I know you don't want to go back to earth, Jo. But do it for your friends, your brother and your parents.' Jo clung to her friend, her parents had been killed in the Bloody Valentine. 'I'll fight for you, L'. You're still alive. Mama and papa are dead.'

Lacus watched the shuttle pull out of the dock. Jo had lost so much to war, and war was continuing to hurt so many people. Why couldn't it just stop. Nobody had an answer.

So, what do you think? Yzak and Dearka are coming back in the next chapter. Please R&R. Bye for now.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED

Hey everyone! I just want to say a big thank you to all the reviewers! I love you guys! Anyway, on with Chapter five.

The shuttle touched down in ZAFT's earth territory. Jo felt incredibly heavy. She would never get used to the earth's gravity. She stood up and made to exit. Of course, she tripped going down the steps. Athrun tried to grab her, but missed. This was going to hurt in the morning. But the ground never came. Instead, she found herself in someone's arms.

Looking up, she saw Yzak's ice-blue eyes. She felt her face burn scarlet. 'S...sorry.' she muttered, and straightened. Yzak was scarlet as well. The other three started sniggering. Yzak spun round. 'What are you laughing at? You'd have caught her as well!' Jo couldn't help smiling. Yzak Jule was such a child sometimes, that's why she liked him.

Rau watched his young team assemble. Jo flashed him a smile, and stood next to Yzak. Her face was scared for life, eyes didn't grow back. Yzak was hanging onto his scar because he had promised the death of Strike's pilot by it. This was proof, he had a psychotic youth on his hands. He smiled at them. 'Welcome to earth. The Legged ship is now on its way to Alaska. I'll be very busy with "Operation Spitbreak", so I'm leaving its destruction up to you.'

He glanced at each of them. Nicol was too passive to be a leader, Yzak was too violent, Dearka would just follow Yzak and Jo wasn't ready. _Don't be stupid! You know she's ready. You're just making excuses to be protective!_ a voice in his head muttered. He ignored it, and looked at Athrun. 'Athrun, you're in charge.'

The boy stopped examining the floor tiles at once. His face was completely bewildered. 'M...me?' he stammered. Rau stared at him, Athrun really had no faith in himself. 'Yes, you. And I'd suggest you start by moving out to the Carpentaria base.' Athrun nodded and managed a shaky 'Yes sir.' Rau nodded, and left.

'So, it's come to this, lets hope he doesn't kill us all.' Dearka laughed. 'Dearka!' Nicol growled, gesturing at Athrun. He looked in serious need of a hug. 'Zala, shouldn't we get movin' towards Carpintaria?' Athrun nodded numbly.

The rules about uncomfortable seats seemed to extend to transport planes. Jo groaned and crossed her legs. After about 15 minutes, she began to hum softly. The pilot of the transport plane sighed, most of the soldiers he'd seen were only teenagers. Why did the army take them? The were to young to understand what being a soldier ment. Ensign Wheeler, "ZAFTs Bloodstained angel", a small, broken child, lost to a raging war.

'Hey! On your left!' an urgent voice sounded. He twisted the wheel, and managed to dodge the shot. The ship behind him wasn't so lucky. It took a hit to its left wing. Wheeler was already moving. 'Let me launch!' she shouted. 'Caliber can't fly! An airborne attack is useless!' he yelled back. They both watced in horror as the ship exploded, and the Aegis went down, taking the EA battleship with him.

Jo stepped off her transport plane. This whole team seemed to take it in turns to go missing. She wondered when it was her turn. _OK, enough with the paranoid thoughts, Jo._ Yzak seemed to think himself second in command, he was currently explaining that their search for Athrun would have to wait until morning. She stroked Luch absently, wondering why Yzak and Dearka seemed to find the fact Athrun was missing so funny. 'Now, I think we should get some sleep,' Yzak finished.

Jo couldn't sleep. The faces of the dead always came at night. EA soldiers she'd killed, people she'd lost. Tonight, however, a new face was added. The face of a teenager she didn't know. A boy, with messy brown hair and light purple eyes. He was clad in an EA flight suit. No way, in hell, was she going to find sleep tonight.

She climbed out of bed, pulled on her uniform trowsers and left the room. The minute she was outside, she regretted not bringing her jacket. Nights on earth were way colder. 'Little Lady? What are you doing out here?' She looked around, and saw Yzak standing a few feet away. 'Couldn't sleep. You?' she replyed, walking over. He shrugged.

They walked together in silence for some time. Neither of them saw any reason to break the stillness of the night. Jo could guess Yzak also suffered from insomnia. Only someone who did could understand the need to be quiet. She smiled softly, and moved closer to him.

Yzak started as Jo's arm brushed his. The wind blew her long purple hair all over the place, until it covered both their faces. He pushed it away, going slightly pink. She pulled it behind her head, smiling sheepishly. He noticed slight tremors running through her body. 'Hey, you're shivering!' he said, slipping off his jacket and wrapping it 'round her. She started, then blushed and muttered 'Thank you.'

On the walk back, the distance between them was almost non-existant.

Nicol found Athrun the next morning. He wouldn't tell them anything about his night on the island. It was obvious that he had not been alone, unless he'd decided to shoot himself.

Jo hit the wall when the battle alert sounded._ Why-oh-why couldn't that ship just CRASH or something? _They met in the hanger, all agreeing on one thing, the Legged Ship was going down today!

Luch sat on her shoulder, his tiny claws digging into the material of her flight suit. Battles never scared her now. They used to, but now they were almost routine. Knowing you could die was old as well. Everybody had die sometime. 'This is Ensign Joffie Wheeler on Caliber, launching!'

'Jo, Nicol, you go straight for the Legged Ship! The rest of us will cover you!' Athrun yelled. He really didn't sound to well. 'Got ya!' she answered, and followed Nicol towards the Legged Ship. The huge bulk of the engines provided a lot of power, but they were too big a target. The first slash of her sabre didn't do much damage. She sighed, this was going to take a while.

'JO! BEHIND YOU!' she heard Nicol scream. She barely managed to dodge Strike's shot. 'Athrun! Start watching my back or else!' she shouted angrily. Dearka moved in and attacked Strike. 'Sorry I'm late, Little Lady!' he yelled. She shook her head and turned back to the Legged Ship.

'Attention all ZAFT and Earth Alliance fleets, you are heading towards Orb territory. If you cross into our waters, you will be removed by force!' Jo stopped momentarly, then continued her attack. In its condition, the Legged Ship wouldn't reach Orb waters. 'How can you say that? The Archangel was made by Orb! Let us cross, Do not attack!' a young female voice sounded. That couldn't be Archangel's captain, could it? She sounded far too young.

'Put my father on the line! Let Uzumi Nara Attha talk to me! I'm his daughter, Cagalli Yula Attha!' 'Cagalli?' Jo heard Athrun mutter. How the hell did he know the Orb prime minister's daughter? At that instant, the Orb fleet opened fire. Jo barely managed to pull back in time. 'Athrun?' She heard Nicol ask as Athrun tried to continue the attack, but was knocked back. 'We've no choice, pull back!' he answered bitterly, watching as the Legged Ship entered Orb territory.

'Meeting, guys!' Athrun stated as they got changed. They nodded. He could see how angry they were. For himself, he was unsure as to whether he should be angry too, or relieved that Kira had gotten away. The report still annoyed him, though, and he knew it would definitely annoy the others.

'What? You expect me to just accept this?' Yzak screamed angrily. Jo glared at the report, fully understanding his sentiments. 'The Archangel has already left Orb,' Athrun stated. 'This is insulting!' Jo snarled. 'I may have lost an eye, but that doesn't make me blind or stupid! I saw them enter, and still Orb has the nerve to say they've left already?' The others nodded emphatically. Athrun stared at them expressionlessly.

'Why don't we just attack the damn country?' Yzak shouted. 'Because then the mainland would get involved, and we'd have a political crisis on our hands.' Athrun retorted calmly. 'So why don't we just sneak in?' Jo asked, hand on hip. The others stared at her, Athrun thoughtfully. 'Alright,' he said after a few moments. 'All in favour of sneaking in?' Four hands were raised high. 'Right. Lets go!'


	6. Chapter 6

Hiya guys! I'm just sayin' thanks to the reviewers, especially Blue Moon Wolf. Thank you all so much! Sorry about the long wait! So, here's Chapter 6!

'Uh, when I said sneak in, I didn't mean we go in swimming!' Jo muttered, pulling on the rubbery wetsuit. 'Aww, it's alright, little lady. No big mean fishy is gonna hurt ya.' Dearka joked. Jo glared at him.

Athrun shook his head at them. 'All right, I'm going.' He shouted over the fight starting between Dearka and Jo. Jo looked round at the sound of the splash. Yzak pushed past her, and disappeared into the water as well, followed by Nicol. She fixed her mask, and jumped into the cold water. Darkness almost consumed her. God, why did some people go diving for fun? She kicked out and swam towards the outlines of her commrads.

They traveled in a tight group, their small lamps doing little in the smothering blackness. Jo's muscles were cramping with cold. Suddenly, Nicol slammed into her, almost knocking her oxygen mask off. She shrugged at him, '_What?_'. Nicol pointed left, at a large black shape moving towards them. She felt her breath catch in her throat. She didn't know anything about underwater creatures on earth. She grabbed Nicol and swam up to Athrun. His eyes flooded with panic and he signaled them to move faster.

They still couldn't out run it, it moved by in front of them. Jo would've screamed, but instead pushed backwards, crashing into the person behind her. The black...thing didn't seem to notice them, it just stayed going. Once it was gone, she turned to the person she'd crashed into. Yzak glared at her through his goggles. Her face turned scarlet. _Why am I blushing? It's not like I've got a crush on him. I can't have. Oh sure, he's cute, but still..._ Yzak pushed her forward, she turned even redder at his touch. _I'm not falling for him! God Jo, stop blushing! _

The rest of the trip passed without great incident. The minute their spies pulled them out of the water in Orb, she swore _never_ to go swimming again. Looking at the ocean was fine, but being in it, no way!

After a not-so-detailed briefing, they were ordered to go to bed. Dinner was delivered on trays and soon after, it was lights out. The boy's face was back. He was crying, his messy brown hair clinging damply to his forehead. She sighed and climbed out of bed. Who the hell was that kid? Sleeping was hard enough without him. Softly, she opened the door and walked down to the beach.

_Note to self: next time you're going for a night time stroll, bring a jacket!_ She sighed, stupid light pajamas! She grumbled for a while, until BANG! She staggered backwards, and fell. 'We've got to stop meeting like this.' Yzak's voice sounded. 'Uh-huh, now be a gentleman and help me up!' she replyed, annoyed. Smirking, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her to her feet, a little too roughly. She ended up in his arms, her head against his chest. They both went an impossible shade of red.

'We've _really_ got to stop meeting like _this_.' she muttered. He grunted in reply. She straightened, staring stubbornly at her feet. Yzak looked at her. She looked really cute when embarrassed. The moonlight caused her hair to shine even more. Slowly, he pinched her chin, lifting her head so their eyes met. He leaned forward, catching her lips in a hesitant kiss. She froze, but then leaned into him, returning the kiss.

They stayed like that until both were reminded that they needed oxygen. They pulled apart, staring at each other in a daze for the bones of five minutes. The sound of a particularly large wave caused him to push her away in shock. _I...I just...I just kissed her! Why the hell did I KISS her?_ He turned and fled back to the dorms. He heard her start to run after him. 'Yzak, wait up!' _No way, I might kiss you again!_ 'Yzak, please! Lets talk about this!' _No, we're not talking about THAT!_ 'At least say why you kissed me!'

He dove into his room, banging the door in her face. Dearka was still asleep, thank God. 'Why the hell did I kiss her?'

Jo spent the next morning walking through one of Orb's main cities with Athrun and Nicol. Dearka had wanted her to come with him and Yzak, but Yzak had said no. Clearly, that kiss last night was un-nerving him. She sighed, Orb seemed strangely peacefull. What a strange place this was.

By midday, she was exhausted. Their search so far had turned up nothing. With a groan, she flopped down on a bench. 'Wake me up when we're heading back to the ship.' she moaned. The other two sighed, and sat down as well. 'Is that stupid ship even _here_?' she asked. Athrun shrugged. 'I want proof either way.'

'See, I told you I'd find them!' came Dearka's voice. Jo glanced up. 'I take you meant us and not the Legged ship.' she asked. Dearka shrugged, 'Sorry, Little Lady. Budge up Zala!' Athrun smirked and stayed where he was. 'I was here first!' he whined. Dearka grabbed Athrun and attempted to pull him off the bench. Athrun swung his foot out and tripped him. With a grunt, Dearka fell, pulling Athrun down on top of him.

The five teens stayed silent for about five minutes, then burst out laughing. Jo got up and helped Athrun to his feet. The boys ran past her, jumping onto the bench. 'Alright then.' she growled and sat on Athrun's lap, putting her feet up on Dearka. 'Awww, get off Little Lady!' they both whined. 'You steal my space, you pay the price.' she answered, smirking. 'Right, you've had your fun, now get off!' Athrun said, pushing her. Caught by surprise, she fell. Someone caught her before she hit the ground. She found herself staring into Yzak's icey blues. Their lips were inchs apart. On impulse, she made to close the distance between them. He made no attempt to stop her.

Dearka's long, low wolf whistle caused them both to start. 'Nothing happened!' They both cried, going scarlet. Jo was stunned, _Why do I want to kiss him, AGAIN? I am not falling for Yzak Jule! I am not!_ Yzak seemed to be thinking along the same lines. The others were smirking at them. _Oh, let them think what they want. They're not going to believe there's nothing between us._ She straightened up and started walking away. 'We're not going to find the Legged Ship by just sitting here. Come on, we've got work to do.' Their stomachs chose that moment to growl loudly. 'We'll look after we eat.' Nicol said, walking in the direction of a restaurant. She shrugged and followed.

Athrun sighed, searching on a full stomach was no better than searching on an empty one. It was starting to get dark and they still hadn't found anything. _Kira, where are you? Why aren't you here, searching with us? Why did you betray your people? Why..._ 'Birdee!' Athrun blinked. 'Birdee!' The little green and yellow bird flew down and landed on his wrist. The others gathered round, staring at it. 'What the hell is that?' Yzak asked. Jo giggled, 'Aww, it's so cute!' _Again with that word._ 'It looks kinda like Luch.'

'Birdee! Birdee where are you!' Athrun froze, that voice... Kira ran out of a building franticly calling Birdee's name. _No, please, not here!_ He cleared his throat, 'Is this yours?' Kira nodded. _Typical Kira, he looks ready to cry._ He walked to the fence and let Birdee hop onto Kira's wrist. 'Th...thank you.' Jo ran up to him. 'Zala, we ain't got time to...' she trailed off, staring at Kira. _Does she know? God, please don't let her know!_ 'Zala, we gotta go. You, don't lose that bird again. It's too cute.' Jo continued, recovering herself. Athrun sighed and followed her back to their car.

'This bird was given to me by my best friend. Thank you for giving it back, it's very special to me!' Kira blurted out. Jo flashed him a smile and hopped into the backseat. Athrun sighed again, Kira cries and Jo smiles when they're angry or confused. She hides it, he shows it. God, why are all my friends weird? He didn't reply to Kira, just climbed into the passenger seat.

_So that's who that boy is. But, when I see him, he's wearing an EA flight suit. So, why is he in Orb? Is he on the Legged Ship? Could he be...Strikes pilot?_ She was jerked out of her thoughts as Dearka stopped the car. 'Huh, this isn't our ship.' Dearka raised his eyebrows. 'We need to get supplies.' She shrugged and poked Nicol and Yzak. 'Wake up, Dearka says we gotta get supplies.' The two boys made sure to poke her back before climbing out of the car. She pouted, 'I had to wake you somehow.' Athrun and Dearka climbed out of the front seats and they walked towards the shop.

'Woof!' Jo froze and then moved closer to Yzak. He looked down at her. 'What's...'

'Woof!' A huge black dog ran across the road, straight at them. Jo shrieked and grabbed Yzak's arm. Athrun grabbed a stick and swung it at the dog. It caught the dog across the jaw. The animal snapped at him, biting his arm. Dearka grabbed another stick and hit it across the head. Jo seemed to be having a panic attack in Yzak's arms. The animal was mad, it didn't seem to feel the blows Dearka dealt it, it clung onto Athrun's arm.

'Yzak, keep her breathing! Nicol, help me!' Dearka shouted, trying to pry the dog off Athrun. Nicol oblidged, and hit the dog across the snout. Finaly, Dearka felt its jaws loosen. He pried the open, letting Athrun scoot backwards. Nicol hit it once more, killing it. 'Guys, Jo can't breath!' Yzak shouted, 'Someone get me a paper bag!' 'A paper bag? What good will that do?' Nicol yelled, getting the first aid kit out of the car, and tending to Athrun's arm. 'Just do it!' Shrugging, Dearka pulled one out of the car and handed it to him. He placed it over her nose and mouth. Her breating easied and she passed out

_'Jo, just keep running! I won't let them catch you!' Zach yelled. 'Zach, they've got dogs! I don't like dogs!' He pushed her along the road, shouts and barks only minutes behind them. 'Don't worry, I won't let the dogs hurt you!' Her eyes filled with tears. 'But you don't like dogs either!' Suddenly, a huge dog jumped out at them, latching onto her leg. She shrieked and fell. 'JO!' Zach yelled, prying it off her and dragging her away. Panting, she ran as well, the dogs barking sounding only seconds behind them._

Jo groaned, opening her eye. Her head was resting against Yzak's shoulder. There was a strange weight against her shoulder. She glanced down, and saw Athrun sleeping against her shoulder. Their was a bandage on his right arm. She smiled softly and shifted into a more comfortable position to go back to sleep. It was nice to sleep at night again.

OK, so there were lots of things added in, but what do you think. Oh ya, next chapter, ep 29 doesn'twork out the same way.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own, so nobody sue.

Hi everybody! As always, a big thanks to all the reviewers! Blue Moon Wolf, a really big thanks to you.

Jo pushed her dark purple hair off her face. Their jounery back to the ship had been uneventful, unless you counted Yzak insisting on carrying her onboard, using her panic attack as an excuse. Oh yeah, his blush was enough to tell the real reason. _If I remember correctly, you were almost glowing, you were so red,_ a voice in her head muttered. She ignored it. 'Attention! All units report to battle stations!' Rolling her eyes, she ran towards the changing room. That stupid ship! Why couldn't it just crash? Even as she buckled herself into Caliber, she felt something was going to go very wrong.

'Oie, Little Lady, wake up and launch!' Dearka shouted at her in his usual mocking voice. She smirked at him, 'Aw, miss me that much?' 'Not me, but Yzak seems to.' She felt her face heat up. _Why am I blushing, again?_ 'Ensign Joffie Wheeler on Caliber, Launching!'

The battle started off OK, Yzak went straight at Strike. She smiled, "The Silver Duelest". That suited him, he always went one-on-one. But he fought to avenage both of them, himself and her, though killing that pilot wouldn't undo the damage. Yet, for all the damage he'd done, he deserved to die. It was hard to connect that boy in Orb with this killing machine.

She barely managed to dodge a shot from one of their battleships. _OK, wake up and smell the battle, Jo._ But, whoever was piloting it had nowhere near the skill of the pilot she was used to. She swung Caliber round, dodging another shot and managing to glimpse Dearka taking on another battleship. 'So, I got me a rookie to deal with? What the hell's that pilot thinking?' Coming into a battle against five experienced fighters with no experience whatsoever, whoever it was had to be mad.

Tolle tried to take Caliber down, but the other pilot was dodging effortlessly. Maybe Kira was right, he might need more experience. But how else was he going to get experience. He needed to fight in some battles. Suddenly, the radio crackled to life and an unfamiliar female voice sounded from it. 'Unless you've got a death-wish, get the hell off the field! I've no time for rookies! We'll destroy the ship soon enough anyway, go die there if you must.'

Her voice was harsh, but he could tell that without the command and the edge war had given it, it would be soft and maybe even musical. She fired at him, with an accuracy he couldn't match. He swerved to the side, barely avoiding the shot. 'Didn't you hear me? Get out of my way!' 'No can do!' he shouted back. He could almost see her closing her eyes. 'Have it your way then.'

But then an explosion sounded from below them, Caliber swung round. 'NICOL!' he heard her shriek. Wincing when he heard the pain in her voice, he still wasted no time and fired. His luck held and it struck the cockpit. Caliber crashed into the island, landing beside the wreckage of Blitz. He felt sick, someone had just died by his hand. He had just become a killer.

(AN: this is back a few minutes, before Blitz explodes.) Kira's sword was trained on the cockpit of the Aegis.He was holding a sword to Athrun's chest. Athrun's power was out, all he had to do was kill him. But his body wouldn't work. This was Athrun Zala, his childhood friend, he couldn't just kill him and yet, he had to.

'NO! ATHRUN!' Kira swung round, his sword slicing above the Blitz's cockpit. _No, I can't watch someone else die! I couldn't kill Athrun, and I can't kill him. Not like this, not without meaning to._ Strike's hands moved into the gap, minutes before the MS exploded and Caliber crashed behind it. The shrieks from their commrades and the explosions sounded deafening. Cradling the Blitz's pilot protectivly, he latched onto the Archangel.

Dearka watched Yzak crash...uh _land_ Duel next to Caliber. The cockpit flew open and the silver haired pilot flew out of the suit and ran over to the buckled door of Caliber. He climbed down from Buster and stood ready to stop his friend killing someone (ie Athrun) if Jo was dead. Even as he thought Athrun's name, the 16 year old climbed out of the Aegis. His already pale complexion was almost transparent.

As expected, Yzak launched at him, verbally: he couldn't punch him as he was holding Jo. Dearka flinched at the insults, but rage soared when Athrun quietly whispered, 'I know it's all my fault.' Catching even himself by surprise, he punched the other pilot in the face. Surprised, Athrun fell backwards. Dearka caught his coller, lifting him so that only his toes touched the ground.

'Now you listen here, Zala! And that goes for you to, Yzak. One commrade is dead, another is seriously injuried! If we blame each other like this, that bastard is going to have us all dead by next week! It's Strike's fault! Ok?' The other two stared at him, stunned. Athrun didn't even attempt to squirm out of his grasp. 'It should have been me. If I'd just...' 'No 'Ifs', Zala. Nicol's dead, nobody can change that! Now, get back in Aegis. You and me'll take Caliber. Yzak, you take her.'

Yzak was stunned at the amount of authority Dearka could muster. He watched the blonde haired boy drop Athrun, and push him towards Aegis. Slowly, he stood, cradling Jo in his arms. He hated seeing her like this. Even when she'd had that panic attack, she'd still looked strong. That was who she was, strong and proud, a warrior. Now she looked small and broken. It wasn't right. Damn Strike!

Oh yes, Strike would pay for this. If it cost him his own life, Strike would pay!

Athrun clutched the controls of the Aegis. Kira...had...killed...Nicol. Now what was he to do? An image of Nicol's mother crept into his mind. Because of him..._NO,_ because of _Kira_, her son was dead. He would not allow anyone else to die, not allow anyone else's parents to grieve. Kira had taken one of his few friends and badly injured another. No, Kira was no longer his friend, that bastard had chosen those naturals, and now he would choose his own people. He was a ZAFT soldier.

Kira would die, by his hand. And that skygrasper pilot too. Those pilots would die to avenge Nicol and Jo. Even if he had to die himself, they would die.

Jo moaned softly. She tried to shift out of her uncomfortable position. That had to be why her body ached so much. 'Don't Jo, you shouldn't move. I'm trying to get you back to the ship, and if you keep moving around, _I'll_ crash.' Smiling, she rested her head against his shoulder. Even when dazed, Yzak's voice was impossible to mistake. As was that feeling of being safe she had when she was with him.

'I've fallen in love with you.' she whispered, and then passed out.

So, what ya think? I know, this chapter is a lot shorter, I kinda exhausted my plot bunny. I gotta be nicer to those things. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed it.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own, so nobody sue!

I'm back! Thanks again to the reviewers. Blue Moon Wolf, please hurry up and get your story up! I really want to read it! "Mein Lied", "My song" it sounds so cool! (Or did you mean 'Mein Leid' - 'my sorrow'?) Anyway, on with the story!

Yzak stepped out of Duel with Jo in his arms. _"I've fallen in love with you."_ Had she really said that? She was probably just delirious. Sighing, he began walking towards the exit to the hanger, Athrun and Dearka behind him. War was hard enough, but when love got involved, it became that much harder.

Rau stared at the report. Jo was...injuried? But...but how had Zala let her get hurt? Jo was too young to be scarred again, she had too many scars as it was! His mind was spinning. Why was he getting so attached to a member of his team? OK, he'd promised Jay he'd look after her, but that was a job.

'Me thinks little Rau is in love.' came Jay's oh-so-mocking voice. Rau spun 'round, blushing behind his mask. 'I am _not_!' he hissed. Jay's smirk only grew. 'Really? Then why do you continue to look at her as if she's an angel?' Rau's blush deepened. 'She's...nice...to me.' he whispered. Jay smiled sadly. For the first time in many years, Rau le Creuset looked like that bullied child. A young boy with a crush. Life was hard, and falling in love was harder.

Strike touched down in the Archangel's hanger. Kira swallowed nervously. _OK, how do I explain about the ZAFT soldier I've decided to bring onboard?_ Sighing, he opened the door of the cockpit and carried the young boy into the hanger.

'Kira! Are you alright? Who's that?' Tolle ran up to him, dropping his helmet. Kira shuffled his feet. 'This is the pilot of the Blitz.' The silence in the hanger was almost deafening. 'Yamato, why have you just brought a ZAFT pilot onboard?' Murdoch asked. 'He's a...prisoner...' Murdoch shrugged and went to call Ramius. Kira sighed in relief.

_But...Athrun..."NICOL! JO!" The pain in his once best friend's cry hit him harder then any attack. By protecting his friends, he was causing Athrun so much pain. But he couldn'd abandon the Archangel, he couldn't abandon his friends. "Your friends? Then what does that make me?" Athrun..._

'Hello, earth to Kira!' Tolle was calling his name. 'Huh?' 'Come on, lets go get a bite. The medics will look after him.' Nodding in a dazed way, Kira followed him out of the hanger.

'DAMNIT!' Yzak shrieked, punching Nicol's locker. 'That stupid _BASTARD_! Why did he have to kill Nicol? And that stupid rookie! Why'd he have to hurt Jo?' The other two pilots bowed their heads. Athrun looked rather suicidal...or homocidal...or both. Dearka was still ready to pull them apart if things got out of hand.

'And you! Why didn't you do something?' Yzak snarled accusingly, staring at Athrun. 'Yzak! We've been through this. It's not his fault, it's Strike's. So drop it!' Dearka barked. 'But...' 'You're right Dearka. It's Strike's fault. And I'm going to take him down.' Athrun's soft voice sounded _really_ homocidal, but he still looked rather suicidal. The two older teens almost felt like not letting him into battle. Yzak being homocidal, that was alright, but Athrun was too calm and level-headed to do something stupid. If Athrun was like this, all hell was going to break loose in the next battle.

The controls of the Aegis cut his palms. He was gripping them to tightly, but his hands wouldn't loosen their grip. 'Athrun Zala on Aegis, Launching!' His voice was harsher the usual. _Kira... I wish I could say I'm sorry for making this decision, but I can't_._ I can't, 'cause I'm not. You've made your decision, I've made mine. Now, it all depends on who wins._

Kira stared at the Aegis. He could tell Athrun that his friend was alive. 'Ath...' the Strike shook violently as Athrun attacked. He stared at the red MS, stunned. Athrun had never attacked so relentlessly. The loss of his friend must've hit him hard. But...but that boy was alive. If Athrun would just listen...

Athrun shut Kira's voice out. Rage fueled him, Kira had to die today. He honestly didn't care what that bastard had to say. Kira had killed Nicol, that was all that mattered. He could still hear Jo's shrieks as Caliber went down, Nicol's cry as he tried to protect him. It was all Kira's fault.

The battle went on, Athrun was too far gone to care whether he died, just as long as Kira died with him. His comrades voices seemed distant, only the blood pounding in his ears could really be heard. When the second craft came at him, he panicked slightly, but then realised it was the same pilot that had injuried Jo. Rage swelled even more and he tossed his sheild at the battleship. It struck it's cockpit. Kira's cry went unheard.

Kira's next attack was frenzied. It seemed the pilot was one of Kira's friends. Good, now that bastard knew how much losing a friend hurt. Kira flew at him, trying to kill him. His blank, battle-crazed mind hardly even registered the Aegis loosing limbs. Nothing really mattered, as long as Kira died.

With a cry, he attached the Aegis to Strike and set the self-distruct. His cockpit opened and he leapt out. The force of the explosion soon caught up with him and shattered his helmet visor. Darkness closed over his vision and he passed out.

Dearka slowly stepped out of his cockpit. EA soldiers gathered round him, with enough guns to make him disappear from the waist up should he decide to do a runner. Just as the enemies were tying his hands behind his back, an explosion shook the ground. The whole group looked round, just in time to see the Aegis explode around Strike. Dearka's eyes widened. 'ATHRUN!'

Meanwhile, back on the ZAFT sub, tears formed in Jo's closed eye. '_No, not again..._'

EEK, Athrun sounds crazier than intended in this chapter. By the way, he was in SEED mode all through the battle. Anyway, what do ya think? 'Till next time.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Don't own, so nobody sue!

Hiya everyone! Here I am, again! As always, I'm so grateful to all the reviewers! Thanks a lot guys, and please review this chapter to. Here's chapter 9!

_Athrun's dead? What the hell was that stupid kid thinking? What was the point of killing himself? _'Hey, you still with us?' Dearka growled, those stupid naturals. They were probably over the moon. They'd managed to get a small victory. "Oh yes, wonderful, we really deserve to be the only human species. We've killed two teenagers, captured one and badly injuried another. Aren't we _brillant_!"

Nicol stared sadly at the roof of the infirmary. He'd been captured, he was a PoW. An image of his mother crept into his mind. She thought he was dead. He had joined the army to protect her. Instead he'd hurt her. He'd broken her heart. And Athrun. The older boy had been like a brother, but there was no denying that the death of his mother had knocked a screw out of place. What had his "death" done to _him_? Athrun had a nasty habit of blaming himself. He'd do something stupid, Nicol just knew it.

'Oi, watch where you're pointin' that! Can't you even aim?' That voice sounded so familiar. The mocking edge to it was almost unmistakable. Nicol watched in amazement as Dearka was led into the room. The older teen froze, lilac eyes widening in shock. Nicol merely stared.

Dearka stared at Nicol. He was...alive? But...but the Blitz had exploded for crissake! They had all watched it happen. Athrun had gone crazy because of it, even commited suicide just to take down Strike. Had Athrun died for nothing then?

'Dearka, why are you here? What happened? Is everyone OK?' 'Yes Nicol, everyone is just fine! Jo's half dead, Athrun _is_ dead, and I'm here because I almost got killed! You're meant to be dead. Yzak is probably going to kill someone and Creuset is going to kill him! Everyone is just peachy!'

No sooner had the words left his mouth, he regreted them. Nicol's eyes had suddenly become bright with tears. 'Athrun is...dead? But...but...that _idiot_!' He sighed. Yes, Athrun had been an idiot. But no matter how many times he had yelled at him, Athrun had still half blamed himself. That stupid EA pilot had hurt everyone on the team, but it had seemed Athrun was hit the hardest. Why, he didn't know.

Jo pried her eyes open and groaned. That stupid pilot, beginner's luck! Oh, how she hated lucky rookies! Glancing around, she caught sight of someone framed in the doorway. Whoever it was was far to tall to be any of her teammates. Then, she recognised that profile. 'Sir?' she asked, struggling to rise. He turned and walked away. Confused, she clambered out of bed to follow him.

'Sir?' she asked again, struggling to catch up with him. He led her out onto the deck and stood with his back to her. 'Sir?' she asked, for the third time. 'I can see why he's fallen in love with you. You're so beautiful and lively. What I can't understand is, why did you fall in love with him?' She stared at him. 'Wh...what? Sir, what are you on about?' 'Did you think I wouldn't notice? The way he looks at you, and the way you blush when you have to stand close together. Your smile is so beautiful, but it's softer when it's directed at him.'

Jo stood where she was, completly stunned. 'S...sir, you're not making sense.What are you talking about? _Who_ are you talking about?' He turned to her, suddenly looking angry. 'You know who I'm talking about! Yzak Jule! I've noticed everything! You always stand next to him at meetings! He was the first one to come to your aid when you got shot down! You smile so tenderly at him! Why Jo? Why did you pick him?'

Suddenly, everything made sense. She even forgot the pain, her whole body was going numb. 'Oh Rau, why did _you_ pick _me_?' 'Because...because you're innocent, yet you understand! You know loss and pain, yet you still believe! I fell in love with you, because you're you!' She could feel tears building up in her eye. His arms wound around in a tight, yet gentle hug. 'I know you can never return my feelings, but I'll always protect you. I'll protect you 'cause I'll never stop loving you.'

Sobbing, she returned his hug. 'Everyone's gone, aren't they sir? That's why you chose to tell me now.' 'Yzak's still here. Sleeping now, but yes, the others are MIA.' Her sobbing increased. Nearly everyone had left her..._again_! It surprised her that the one comforting her was Rau le Creuset. He was so kind to her, but she could never love him like that. He was her commander, yet, sometimes he seemed like her father. And, she kinda loved him like one.

Athrun struggled onto the ZAFT sub. His body was still in shock and even walking wore him out. Yzak met him at the door, looking half furious, half relieved. Athrun made an attempt to smile. 'Strike is destroyed, Yzak. It's over.' Yzak nodded. 'How's Jo?' 'She's fine, a little roughed up and exhausted, that's all. You look fairly beat up yourself. Get scared of death half way through?' Athrun made another attempt at a smile. 'Something like that.'

His room looked almost the same. The room of a killer. 'Athrun?' Both boys turned round. Jo was framed in the doorway. 'Jo,' Yzak said, stunned. 'You should still be in bed!' 'I'm fine. Zala, you stupid bastard! How could you scare us like that?' Yzak sighed, pity Dearka wasn't here. He swallowed the lump in his throat. 'Zala, get some rest! Jo, get back to your room and rest!' Jo smiled at him. 'Just promise me something, neither of you die on me! Please.' 'We won't die in our sleep, Little Lady.' Yzak lead her out of the room. Athrun smiled. They did make a cute couple. Pity either of them could die. War really made no time for love...or friendship.

Well, I've just exhausted my plot bunny for now. Any longer and the poor thing'll have a heart attack. Anyway, what do ya think? Back as soon as christmas is over. See ya!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Don't own, so nobody sue!

Chapter ten is finally here! Sorry bout the long wait. I took some time off this story to update some of my other fics. But it's here at last. I'll stop talking now and write the story.

Green eyes fixed on the ocean. What had he done? What. Had. He. Done? _Last time I checked, you killed your best friend,_ a voice in his head mumbled. For once, he didn't ignore it. It was right, he'd killed Kira. Kira was one of the few people he'd ever been able to call friend. _Nicol was your friend too,_ the voice reasoned. _"Kill because someone was killed, be killed because you killed, how's that supposed to end a war?"_ Cagalli's question rang in his ears. It couldn't end the war, but...

'Hey, Zala.' Jo's soft voice interuped his thoughts. Sighing, he turned to her. Like him, her arm was in a sling. She wasn't half as graceful as she used to be. The weight of the broken bones threw her off balance. Yet her smile was still in place. 'You alright?' she asked. He shrugged. 'Been better. You?' 'I'm alright. Can I ask you something?' He nodded. 'That boy in Orb, with the bird, he was Strike's pilot, wasn't he.'

Athrun stared at her, in shock. She took his silence as a yes, and looked away. 'You gave him the bird, didn't you? You were his best friend, weren't you?' He nodded, struggling to hold back tears. 'So...so, you've just killed your best friend for...for me and Nicci.' she mumbled softly. 'I...I never wanted to, but...but the wreckage of Blitz and you...I just got so angry. And now I've hurt so many people because of it. I didn't want to kill him, things just got out of hand.'

He collapsed to his knees, tears sliding down his face. 'I didn't want to.' he choked. Jo's arm drapped round his shoulders. She was shaking slightly. 'Was this war really worth everything that's happened?' She whispered. 'No. No it wasn't, but...but we can't turn back now.' he answered, though he was still unable to stem the flow of tears. 'I know.' he heard her whisper.

Kira groaned, and pulled his eyes open. Where was he? He turned his head slowly, and his eyes landed on a very beautiful face, framed by light pink hair. He knew that face. Lacus smiled at him. 'Good morning. Do you know who I am?' He smiled and nodded. (AN: I'm just making this conversation up. Bear with me.) 'You're safe now, Kira. You're in the PLANTs.' He stared at her, trying to remember what'd happened.

The image of the Aegis exploding entered his mind. _Had Athrun been rescued, or was he...No, no, no! Athrun wasn't dead! Someone had to have rescued him. He had to be OK! He had to be! _'Kira?' Lacus asked. He looked at her again, and burst into tears. Lacus wrapped her gentle arms round him. 'Don't cry, Kira. It's alright. Hush.'

Athrun walked back to his room, Jo behind him. His door slid open silently, revealing Yzak sitting on his bed and Creuset standing by the wall. 'Ah, there you are, Athrun.' Creuset said smiling. Jo walked over to Yzak and sat down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Creuset spared them a glance, his smile slipping slightly. It was back in place a split second later.

'Athrun, because of your high preformance against Strike you've been awarded a medal, and a replacement for the Aegis,' Creuset paused for a minute, taking in Athrun's stunned face. He sighed, he didn't want to lose the boy. 'And you're being transferred to space.'

'WHAT?' the three teens shouted. Jo and Yzak had jumped to their feet and were shouting in protest. Athrun merely stared, going from red to white at a surprising rate. Creuset raised his hand, signaling for Yzak and Jo to be quiet. They did so, both as white as Athrun. 'You'll leave tomorrow, make sure you leave nothing behind you. It's my deepest regret to lose a soldier like you.' With that, he strode out of the room.

'That's not fair! How could they just transfer you like that!' Jo asked, angrily. Numbly, Athrun went to his wardrobe, and started throwing things out onto the bed. He didn't even listen to what the others said, all they would do was yell about the transfer. And that wouldn't help. It's not like that would change anything. He turned back around, and froze.

'Your aim could do with work, Zala.' Yzak growled, as he pushed a pair of trousers of his shoulder. Jo nodded in agreement, pulling a tee-shirt of her head. He couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. The other two glared, but couldn't help laughing as well.

Jo ended up hugging him again, almost hysterical. Yzak grabbed him in a headlock. 'Don't you dare die, Zala! Cause if you do, I'm following you to the afterlife, pulling you back and killing you myself! Got that?' He nodded, attempting to smile. It didn't work. _It wasn't fair! Why do I have to leave these two so soon after losing Dearka and Nicol? It's not fair!'_

But, in war, nothing ever was...

So, what ya think? Dearka and Nicol will show up again next chapter, I promise! And Dearka's encounter with a crazy Mirilla is still there. And I know, this chapter was really short. I kinda ran out of ideas. Sorry bout that. Drop me a review. Please?


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Don't own, so nobody sue!

Don't kill me! I know, I know, I owe you guys a big apology. The computer crashed and I lost all my files. And I've had writers block for ages, but I think I've got everything alright now. A big thanks to the reviewers. Here's chapter 11!

Jo watched sadly as the shuttle pulled away from the sub.Yzak was standing next to her, his eyes refusing to give away any emotion. She moved closer to him. Without so much as a glance at her, his arm wound round her shoulders and he pulled her into a tight one-armed hug. With a soft sob, she buried her head in his chest.

Rau watched the two teens, anger starting to rise in his chest. Jo shouldn't be up! She was badly injured and needed rest. _And I just can't stand that she feels more comfortable with Yzak, _a voice muttered. He ignored it, and continued to glare at the teens. 'Jo, Yzak, inside now! Jo, you need to rest and Yzak, I want your report on my desk in half an hour!' They glanced up, startled.

Yzak snapped a salut, 'Yessir!'. Jo merely smiled. 'Sure, Onii-chan.' 'The minute the words were out of her mouth, she turned a rather spectacular shade of magenta. Rau stared at her, trying desperately to remain composed. Yzak stared at them with his jaw on the floor. 'I...I mean, sir.' The girl stammered. Rau shook his head, dazed. 'No, it's alright.'

Yzak's jaw seemed to be threatening to go through the deck, and Jo went even redder. Rau still stared at her in shock. "Onii-chan", "Older Brother". She ... thought of him as an older brother? And said so without having to think. Did that mean in a way she loved him? Did that mean she cared about him that much?

She smiled and brushed past him to go back inside, Yzak behind her, still staring at her in utter shock. _So. Alright. I'll be your big brother then. Though I do love you as a person, I'll let you be my little sister. Thank you, for that much. It's more than anyone has ever offered, perhaps more than I could have allowed. How can you do that? How can you make me want to allow myself such impractical hope? I love you for it, yet I fear. _

Dearka was _bored_! Lying around on a bed all day was _not_ something he was good at! And Nicol really wasn't much of help. The younger boy was recovering from serious injuries, and wasn't able to talk for long periods of time. Nothing to distract him from his boredom. If he'd known what being a POW meant, he might just have let himself get killed. Well...maybe Nicol could help...just a little.

'Hey Nicol, say something really stupid,' he whined. The green haired boy looked round in surprise. 'Huh?' 'Just say something stupid, like, I dunno, I wear pink underwear.' Nicol tured a really shocking shade of red. 'I will _not_!' he hissed, before breathing far to heavily and sinking down onto the bed clutching his chest. 'Sorry, Nicol,' Dearka muttered, trying not to laugh. He felt better now. Nicol's reaction would keep him occupied for...oh, maybe ten minutes.

'Just go inside and wait, Milly. I'll be with you in a minute, Ok? Just try to relax,' a male voice sounded, just before the door opened and a young female EA soldier was pushed inside. 'Back in a minute,' the male said again and the door slid closed. Dearka stared at her. Hand it to her, she was rather pretty...for a natural. Make that gorgeous! _Ah, she's probably like the Little Lady, or any other girl I happen to meet. Beautiful to look at, innocent smile, and completely psychotic._

The girl glanced between him and Nicol, staring at them as if they'd four heads between them. 'What?' he asked, raising his eyebrows, 'Did your little natural boyfriend die or something?' _Oh yeah, you're worried about the girl being unstable and you insult her. Think about this, who's the unstable one? Hang on, you're just an idiot._ A voice in his head muttered. He would have to get that looked at, voices were not a good sign, especially when they insulted you.

However, that could be looked at later. Now, the girl seemed to have gotten it into her head to kill him. With a knife, no less. Instinct told him fight or flee. In this case, fighting would be better, but the restraints said differently. Leaving a knife, unguarded, with two POWs and a crazy girl? Who ran this barge? 'Dearka! Look out!' Nicol shrieked just a second to late. White hot pain seared through his head, temporarily stunning him, giving the crazy bitch time to throw him to the floor.

_Geez, I never really appreciated how much Yzak and the Little Lady went through with them facial injuries. And they got hit round the eyes. Hell, the Little Lady lost an eye! _

_Blood tastes really weird..._

Screams and shouts above his head interupted his train of thought. Nicol was shouting and a new boy had appeared. Forcing himself to sit up, he registered another girl standing by the door. The crazy bitch was crying something about a "Kira" and "Tolle" being dead and why did he and Nicol have the right to live. Anger, pride and...guilt?...flared. He and Nicol had lost people too! Athrun, Rusty, Miguel. And the Little Lady had been injuired by those pilots! If that was the way she looked at it, then no-one on this ship deserved to live either!

The other girl in the room had reached into a drawer, and pulled out a gun. He felt his breath catch. Nicol gasped too, clearly wanting to do something. But neither of them could move. That girl was crying too, something about her father, this Kira person, and coordinators not deserving to be alive. A little more pressure on that trigger and he'd be dead. The first girl suddenly pounced, and the bullet struck the overhead light. The three boys stared at them, unsure of what to do.

'Why did you stop me? You hate coordinators too, don't you?' the second girl stammered. 'No, it's not the coordinators that I hate. I stopped you because I'm not like you.' 'THEN WHY WERE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM!' the second girl shouted.

Help came in the form of a young man, maybe late twenties, walking in demanding to know what was going on. Angrily, he escorted the three teens away, calling for another solider on his way out.

Dearka turned to Nicol. 'Why can't I meet at least one sane girl in my life?' Nicol blinked, 'The Little Lady was sane...'. Dearka stared. 'What planet were you living on?That girl was so far gone she was on her way back! She fell in love with Yzak, for crissake! A team full of guys and she picked the homocidal one! Does that not give you some pointers about her mental state!' Nicol nodded thoughtfully.

Lacus stared at Kira. He seemed so sad now. Everyone she knew seemed constantly sad now. Kira, Athrun...Jo. Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder at the picture hanging on the wall. Jo had been thirteen when that picture had been taken. A year and a half before she joined the army(AN: From what I've read on the net, it only takes half a year to graduate as a volunteer solider. Maybe I'm wrong, but lets just say it's true.) Lacus had been fourteen. They'd both looked so happy. It had been taken outside Lacus' house. That seemed like centuries ago.

Sighing, she walked up to the boy. 'Kira, why are you so sad?' The boy glanced up at her. 'I've killed so many people, and watched so many others die. I let others die. I let Athrun self-destruct, I watched Caliber's pilot get shot down, I let my friend die. So many people have died because of me.'

_Jo got shot down? Was Jo badly hurt, or...or dead? Why hadn't Kira told her? OK, just calm down Lacus. Kira didn't know about Jo. And Kira had _watched_ her get shot down. _He_ hadn't shot her down!_ 'Come on. You saved a lot of people.' Kira still looked dejected, she sighed. 'Come on, lets go and get some lunch.'

They stepped back inside. Lacus glanced once more at the picture. _Jo, will I ever see you again? Please don't be dead. God, if Kira can survive, so can you. You're strong! Please don't be dead!_

'WHAT?' Jo shrieked, angrily. 'What do you mean I'm not going?' 'Just that. You're not going. Your physical condition is too bad. Your bones are still mending and will not be fully healed when we hit Alaska. You will not be joining in the attack. Now, report back to your quaters.' She glared at Rau. 'We'll need all the forces we have. At least put me on reserve!' 'I said no. Report back to your quaters. That's an order!'

She sighed and saluted. 'Fine onii-chan.'

Well, what y'all think? Was it worth the wait? Hopefully next chapter won't take so long.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: We've been through this, I don't own!

Hey, an update! Yeah! Thanks to the reviewers and I hope y'all enjoy chapter 12!

Lacus was happy. Her father was home. Because of their work, they rarely got the chance to be with each other. Just to sit down and drink tea together. Although, the last time they had, Jo had been there. Her stomach clenched, and her good mood dropped. Though of her friend was painful. After all, the younger girl could be lying dead somewhere down on earth. She bit her lip and glanced at Kira. He looked back, forcing a smile. The ringing of the telephone startled them all.

Siguel answered it and a young woman's face appeared on the screen. 'Chairman Clyne? This is Eileen Craver. Patrick tricked us. Panama is not the attack sight of Operation Spitbreak. The attack is focused on Alaska!' 'WHAT?' Lacus winced at the volume of her father's voice. Her head whipped round at the sound of breaking china. Kira glanced at the two of them, tears filling his violet orbs. 'The Archangel is in Alaska, if I don't do something, my friends will die. I'm going back to earth.' She blinked, then rose and, after a curt nod from her father, touched his arm.

'If that's the case, then follow me Kira.'

Kira stood alone in the spare room, a ZAFT uniform lying on the bed. One of Athrun's spares, apperently. But, if that was the case, then why'd it look so small? Athrun was a few centimeters taller than him, and though he was slightly thinner, there was no way this would be big enough for him. Unless, the uniform looked smaller than it was.

No, this definitely wasn't Athrun's. The trousers stopped just below his knees and refused to close, the white boots were several sizes too small, and the tee-shirt wouldn't even fit over his head. 'Hey Lacus! Has Athrun shrunk and gone on a diet?' he shouted. The pink haired girl came in. 'No, wh...Oh...' She stood staring at him for several minutes in utter shock, before collapsing in giggles and pointing to the wall behind his head. He turned and saw a picture hanging on the wall.

A young, purple-haired girl in a ZAFT uniform stood next to Lacus outside a large building. He stared at it and then gasped in shock. 'S...she leaves her uniforms here as well. She's got nowhere else to leave them. I'm very sorry Kira.' Lacus gasped, staggering out of the room and returning seconds later with another uniform. 'This _is_ one of Athrun's. I'm really very sorry.' He shook his head and pulled off the trousers.

The halls of the ZAFT base were dully coloured. Kira wondered vaguely how Athrun had stuck them for so long. Lacus was leading him towards a hanger. _I trust there's a reason she knows all these secert codes. I mean, Cagalli knew that code on Helipolis and she's the princess of Orb. Did she design all these GUNDAMs? _ He snapped out of his thoughts at the sight of a rather spectacular MS.

'This is ZGMF X10A Freedom GUNDAM. It is ZAFTs newest mobile weaponry. But my father and I feel that neither ZAFT nor the EA deserve to have such power. As you only wish to end the war, we feel you need power. That is why we want _you_ to have the Freedom.' Lacus whispered. He stared at her. 'I..I don't know. It's a really big decision...' She smiled at him. 'Kira, sometimes inteligence alone isn't enough, sometimes power alone isn't enough either. Sometimes, you need both.'

He stared at her, repeating her words softly, then smiled. 'Who are you?' She returned the smile. 'I am Lacus Clyne, Kira Yamato.' He nodded and changed into Athrun's spare flight suit. The Freedom radiated sheer power when activated. Lacus appeared on the screen. 'Kira, if you see Caliber again...please don't shoot it down. Tell the pilot to get out of there. Tell the pilot that message is from me. Please?' He nodded and launched, flying by a small shuttle. _Is Caliber's pilot the owner of that uniform? Is she your friend? The girl in your picture? If so, I'm sorry for hurting her._

Jo sat in the hanger of the sub, trying her hardest to look like she was not sulking and merely observing the final repairs to the Caliber. The childish pout on her lips told otherwise. Yzak walked up to her, his helmet under his arm. 'You might wanna stop pouting. It ruins your strong image, Little Lady.' He muttered. She smiled faintly and punched him in the arm with her good hand. 'I don't see why I can't go. My arm's out of the sling and the cut on my cheek is all but healed.' Yzak smiled at how childish she sounded.

'The commander has his reasons. Your arm is not fully...' 'Oh don't say it. Onii-chan already gave me this speech.' He winced at the way she refered to Rau. 'Yes, well, the commander is...?' He stopped in shock as her hands cupped his face and she stood on tiptoes. Her lips met his in a soft kiss. 'Don't die on me, y'hear? I wanted to go out so I could back you and Onii-chan up. I don't want to lose you two, I can't bear the thought of being alone. And I love ye too much to let this war take ye. So please, I'm begging ye not to die!'

He smiled. 'I won't, and le Creuset won't either. OK?' She nodded and he kissed her one more time. 'I love you too.'

Rau stared at them. _I wish I didn't have to do this to you now, but I have to. I'm so sorry._ 'Yzak! Into your cockpit, now! We're launching!' The silver haired teen nodded, jamming on his helmet and climbing into the Duel. Jo retreated slightly, the ridiculous purple mouse Athrun had made her sitting on her shoulder(AN: Y'all remember Luch? He hasn't appeared for so long, I just had to bring him back in. After all, he'll play a really big part soon...). He sighed and climbed into his DINN. _Please forgive me for what I'm about to do to you._

The Alaskan base was huge. Rau landed his MS in the recently abandoned control booth. The Cyclops System? Yes, this should do nicely. Most of the forces situated here would be destroyed. His sub was situated far enough back so Jo would not get hurt. He would have to kill her...but only after he'd explained. It was the least he could do, after all she'd done for him. _You're really going to kill her? You're her "Onii-chan" you selfish bastard!_ _She trusts you! _ a voice in his head shouted, at the same time a sense of La Flaga's presence flashed.

He grabbed his gun and fired. The other man dodged the shot and squeezed off one of his own. Rau ducked. 'I'm sorry, Mu. I don't have time to play with you,' he hissed and strode out of the room via another door. _I gotta get out of here. First off, contact Jule. Secondly, get back to the sub. Thirdly, get the gun off the redhead blocking my path. _

The girl held the gun in shaky hands. Not the way Jo would. Jo would've held it steady, and have been confident about her aim. She wouldn't look so frightened. He smiled at the young girl. 'Give me that,' he said softly. His voice seemed to startle her, giving him time to knock her out. She collapsed in his arms and he carried her to his DINN.

'Commander?' Yzak's face filled the screen. 'We've already broken through the gates. If we keep this up, Alaska is ours!' Yzak sounded so confident. Pity about this. Jo would hate him, but he had to do this. 'The Archangel is on the field, Yzak. I need you to help take them down.' The boy's eyes sparkled. Revenge, payback for the two comrades he'd lost. It was stupid. Nothing would bring them back. Life ended so fast, never to be rekindled. A life ended felt no pain...a life left behind was forever tortured. _That is why I must do this to you all. I'm so very sorr_y. _Please Jo, at least try to understand._

With a sigh, he started up the MS and left towards the sub.

Jo watched her commander dock. He climbed out of his suit, a young girl in his arms. She raised her eyebrows. 'Onii-chan, isn't she a bit young?' He stared at her, a faint blush spreading across his features. She smiled. 'Who is she? A PoW?' He nodded, watching her carefully. She looked worried, and was smiling to cover it up. Just like she always did. So strong, and yet so fragile...

Suddenly, the ship rocked from a far off explosian. Jo gasped and staggered sideways. 'What was _that_?' she yelled. Rau stared at her. 'The cyclops bomb. The EA planted it at the base. Anyone in there is dead by now.' Her breath hitched in her throat and she whispered, 'But Yzak is in there...' 'Yes. He was attacking the Archangel on my order.' 'But you were in the base, why didn't you call him? Why didn't you tell him to pull back? Didn't you find the data?' He looked away, at the redhead being carried away on a stretcher. 'Yes, I did find it...' 'Then why...' She stopped as realization dawned on her. 'You...YOU SET HIM UP TO DIE!'

Well? Was it alright? Please R&R.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say this? I. Do. Not. Own.

Hi everybody! First off, a big thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! You guys are the best! Secondly, the cliffie last chapter made starting this one really hard. I couldn't get the damn thing to work! So I decided to skip ahead. This is just the aftermath of the little scenario in the hanger, with little flashbacks to the actual event. If this annoys you, then I'm very sorry. It's the only way this would work. Please forgive me.

Anyways, here's the actual chapter!

Chapter 13

'This isn't a game, Rau!'

The masked man continued to stare straight ahead, not replying to the ghostly form behind him. He was lost in his thoughts. He hadn't meant that to happen. He had meant to explain. He hadn't counted on her reaction. He hadn't counted on anything really. Jay's low growl once again interrupted his thoughts. He sighed. Why wouldn't the man leave him alone, just for once. Slowly he turned to face Jay.

'What isn't?' he asked. Jay looked half ready to hit him. 'This war! This war isn't a game!' Rau stared at him, appearing only mildly interested. 'Did I ever say it was?' 'Rau, you know what I mean! They aren't your toys! You have no right to play with their lives, with _her_ life, after everything she's done for you! She _trusted_ you! You were her older brother, her _Onii-chan_. She cared about you, she even loved you, which is a damn sight more than others have done!' Rau flinched at that, but Jay barrelled on unnoticing. 'And what did you do to repay her? You almost destroyed her! You _knew_ she loved the silver haired boy, you _knew_ that his chances of surviving were slim and nil! What did you expect? Well? Did you expect her to just shrug it off?'

Rau stared at him, the silence ringing in his ears. What had he expected? God, what had he expected? He should've known something would've happened, after seeing Athrun almost kill himself. They were all children, as fragile as glass. Cracked and chipped glass, some only half mended from past blows, the cracks still gaping holes. She was definitly still mending from the disaster that had been 'Petersberg' (AN: Y'all remember that from all the way back in the first chapter?) and the deaths of Nicol and Dearka.

'I never meant to hurt her...' he whispered. Jay shook his head. 'Then why, Rau? _Why_?' Rau stayed silent. There was no way that Jay would understand. No way anyone would understand.

_"You...YOU SET HIM UP TO DIE!" _

_She stopped dead, staring at him. Tears building up in her eye. He stared right back, not knowing what to say. The tears flowed down her face, emptying her eye out. Her soul, her beauty now landing on the ground in the form of crystaline tears. He remained silent, standing in front of her, not moving to wipe her tears away. He just watched her shatter in front of his eyes._

Yzak walked out of the hanger with Jo beside him. The smile he had learned to love was nowhere in sight, there was only an empty look. It was strange to look at. Her face was meant to have a smile on it, whether it was small, or a full blown grin. The look reminded him too much of Athrun, or Creuset. That dead look. The one that had almost learned not to care. And Jo cared too much.

With a small smirk, he turned to her. She glanced at him, and even in the dull light he could see the tear tracks on her face. It caused his heart to clench. Right, now it was time to do some stupid 'Dearka-like' problem solving. He stripped off his gloves and used his thumbs to turn her mouth upwards into a 'U' shape.

As expected, she smacked his hands away. 'You jerk! That _hurt_!' she shrieked, but her mouth stayed smiling. His smirk grew. 'It worked though.' With a pout, she turned away from him. 'As of a few words from now, I'm not talking.' He put his hands on his hips. 'You haven't been talking since I got back. You were crying, and then just kept your mouth shut. Don't you think I've had enough of the silent treatment?'

She glanced over her shoulder at him. There was still a large, damp patch on the chest of his flight suit where her tears had soaked into the material. Just seeing him alive had caused her to loose control and just fling herself at him and cry. And he had held her, and let her scream and sob into his chest. He had been shaking slightly. Not visably, but definitly shaking.

And Rau had stood in the backround and watched. She swallowed at the thought of Rau. She didn't want to hate him. She _couldn't_ hate him. He'd just screwed up, that was all. Softly, she bit her lip. Zach had gone and gotten himself killed. He'd left her in that crowd with no clue what was going on, or if he was dead or not. Zach was her Onii-chan, always would be, despite his mistake. And Rau would remain her Onii-chan, despite his mistake. _I can't see why you did that to Yzak, I can't understand your reasoning, I really can't even understand you properly, but you promised to protect me. And I know you will. As I will for you, Onii-chan._

With a proper smile, she turned to face Yzak fully. 'Yeah, you probably have. Lets go get a bite.'

Lacus pinned her hair up into pigtails. It was the way Jo had worn it in their youth. Only Jo's messy purple hair had put a completely different twist on the style. She smiled at the memory, before biting her lip and sighing. She just couldn't get her head round the fact Jo could be dead. Or that Athrun could be dead. They'd both been so alive when she'd last seen them. OK, war had taken its toll, changing them both, but they'd been _alive_! Shaking her head, she turned and strode out of the room, and onto the ruined stage.

The song she sang had been Jo's favorite. She'd never known why. Jo wasn't really a fan of her music. Songs of peace upset her, the same way the war upset Lacus. They both wanted peace, to protect, to get someting better for their people, but had gone on two completely different paths. Lacus had used her voice, and become the 'Pink Princess of the PLANTs', whereas Jo had become a soldier and became 'ZAFT's Bloodstained Angel'. Different choices, different paths, same goal. Only Jo's choice may have killed her.

The rustling of at the doorway caused her to glance sideways briefly, never stopping the song. Suddenly, the theater filled with noise as Haro's voice echoed of the walls. She grinned. Only one person would've thought of Haro. And he was walking up the aisle, bearing the marks of his latest brush with death. She smiled up at him, pointedly ignoring the gun in his good hand. He stared back down at her, his face closed.

'You once told me that this was the first place you ever sang,' he said, the words coming out clipped and cold. She nodded. 'I knew you'd find me.' His coldness stung, like it had the last time, but she kept her smile in place regardless. The gun raised itself from it's position at his side to point straight at her face. The move looked so natural, as if he was on auto-pilot.

'Why did you give the Freedom over to the EA?' She stared at him. 'Oh!' She said, 'No, I only gave the Freedom to Kira because he needed it.' His face changed, becoming stunned and vaguly hurt. 'Th...that's a lie! Kira's dead, I...I killed him.' The small stutters caused her to stare. It showed remorse. Guilt. Though she knew Athrun wasn't a bad person, he'd killed so many people.

'Kira survived. Reverand Malchio found him on a beach and brought him to me,' she said with a smile. 'Even if Kira were alive, why would you...' She cut him short. 'Kira isn't in the EA anymore, nor is he in ZAFT. Kira says he's going to fight for what he believes in. What do you fight for? Is it because you want honor and medals? Or because of your father? Because if that's the case then Kira may still be your enemy, and I will be too.'

She stood up to face him, staring right down the barrel of the gun. His face was stunned, but she went on regardless. 'So now that I'm your enemy, are you going to kill me too? Athrun Zala _of ZAFT_!' He continued to stare at her, his eyes clenched shut. The gun lowered, pointing at the ground. She relaxed her shoulders.

'Ah, Zala, you found her.' an unknown voice sounded from behind them. Athrun glanced over his shoulder, eyes narrowing. The man behind him was wearing an annoying smirk as he continued. 'Though I did expect you to shoot, or at least take her in instead of standing around chatting.' His hand clenched around the handle of his gun, but it was at least five shooters to one. And they had the better position, he would have to turn and then raise his gun, but if they saw a hostile action all they'd have to do was put one in his back. Not good.

He glanced back at Lacus. She looked slightly nervous. Handing the gun to her might work, but moving his weapon was not a good idea. _Lacus, tell me you have a back-up plan._

'Well, hand her over, Zala.' He remained standing between Lacus and them. The man was getting annoyed, moving a step forward. What happened next was a blur. Men hiding in the seats opened fire on the ZAFT soldiers. The shock was drowned out by his instinct. _Grab Lacus, get cover, and move it!_

The girl didn't put up a fight as he grabbed her and pulled her behind a pillar. Cagalli would've wanted to fight, the Little Lady would've moved on her own. Keeping Lacus behind him, he peeked out from behind the large structer. The noise of the gunfire was deafening. For one who wasn't used to it, it would hurt. Straining his eyes, he say the dull shapes of bodies falling. Lacus took a sneak peek out from behind his elbow, just as the noise died.

'Is it over?' Lacus asked. He strained for a few more seconds, and decided it was safe and nodded. They stepped out from behind the piller and Lacus walked to a man wearing a green ZAFT uniform. Before leaving, she turned to face him. 'Kira is on earth. Maybe you should go talk to him.' she said before turning back around. He made to go as well, but stopped.

'Lacus,' he said, not bothering to turn round. 'Yes?' 'One of Kira's friends hurt Jo badly. She's still alive, though.' He shrugged. 'Just thought you'd like to know.'

Huh, Huh? Responses, please people. Was it alright? Please tell me. Till next time.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Um, do I _really_ have to say it _again_?

Howya! So, it's update time again! Yay, go me! Thanks to all you wonderful people out there who are reviewing this story, I love you all! Now, on a small side note, this chapter again starts after the events happen, but you'll find out everything, I promise! Please, it's really not my fault! It's just the way these chapters are going. I think my plot bunny hit its head. Hope y'all understand.

Frightened gray eyes flew open. The room, it was so unfamiliar. And so dark. Where was she? And where was that man? Hang on, that...that man...he'd been wearing a...a...Oh God! No, this wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening. Her army, her nation, they were meant to protect her, not land her onboard an enemy ship! The...the coordinators. She was alone on a ship full of coordinators! Kira...she wanted Kira, or..or Sai. Someone who'd tell her it was alright. But Kira was dead...and Sai thought she'd been transferred. Alone, she was truely alone.

Rustling in a cornor caused her to whip round. A hand closed over her mouth in a vice-like grip. A strong hand, but a small one. Squinting in the dark, she made out the dim outline of a face pressed close to her's.

'Please, don't try to talk. Just don't. You'll land us both in trouble,' the voice was soft, just above under-the-breath. And it was female. 'Look, I need to go. Please, don't sound any alarm. They won't listen to you anyway, most people here are racist.' Go? Where was she going? And why be so sneaky about it? This was her ship, right? But the girl was almost pleading with her. And she was right. No ZAFT soldier would listen to a natural.

'Oh, and one more thing. Tell Onii-chan I'm sorry. Tall, mask, you'll know him.' With that, the door slid closed, allowing the young ZAFT girl to exit. Flay instantly scrubbed at her mouth. That _thing_ had touched her!

Jo walked down the brightly lit corrider, pulling on her gloves, the helmet under her arm. _Only for you L' would I walk away from this ship and my nation. I trust you_, _I really do, but don't walk me into a situation where I've got nowhere to go._

Unlike the corridor, the hanger was as dark as any of the rooms. The cool, metalic sheen of the tools and weaponry gave the place an eerie look. Like a badly done horror movie. Yzak was waiting by the MS's. She smiled at him, shoving a stray strand of hair off her face. It slid back to its former position instantly. Yzak smiled back.

'Stay in touch.' he whispered, gently pushing that same strand away from her face. This time, it stayed where it was. She smiled back. 'I will. Everything ready?' The silver haired teen nodded. Swallowing, she looked down. 'Don't worry,' she whispered, 'I won't hit you too hard.' He slipped his finger under her chin, raising her head. The gentleness of his kiss caused her to simply melt into his embrace, never wanting to loose this feeling. This glorious feeling of simply being in his presence, his arms around her. To be almost as one with the person she loved. To stay here, in his arms, where it was safe.

But, like all wonderful things, the kiss ended. The miraculous feeling was lost and she was standing in the dull hanger ready to desert. And he was here, a loyal soldier turned spy all on the whim of a hunted girl. It was do or die time. With a wince, she slammed her palm into his forehead. He crumpled, and she boarded the Caliber. Like Yzak had promised, the catapult propelled her out into the night.

Nicol stared at the girl, the same girl who'd tried to kill them, in shock. Dearka stood next to him, eyebrows raised. 'What do you mean we're being set free?' The girl gave him a withering look. 'What I said. You're being set free. As we've deserted the EA, we've no right to hold you. You're free to go.'

Thge young girl then turned sharply and made to leave. Dearka moved to intercept her. She glared at him as he stood in front of her. Nicol hovered in the backround, recognising the look from Yzak and the Little Lady. A challenge, but also an understanding. Slowly, Dearka dipped his head and murmured one word.

'Sorry.'

'I don't understand!' Nicol hurried after Dearka, trying to catch up with the older boy's strides. 'Understand what?' the blond asked. 'Why, why set us free? We're still a valuble asset, if they're going against ZAFT. They could still use us. Not to mention the fact we've got nowhere to go. I'm KIA and you're MIA, ie, we're both dead. We can't go back to ZAFT.' Dearka shrugged. 'We can't really stay here either.' Nicol sighed. 'A land of peace, and we've got nowhere to go.'

The road was bumpy. The two young boys walked along the cliff road. The smell of the sea caused them both to wince. The sea held so many painful memories. So many deaths. Athrun and well...themselves. Ha, so funny, they were both dead. So this was like, "Night of the Living Dead" or something. He swallowed his laugh.

'Um, Dearka?' Nicol suddenly murmmered. He turned, to look back across the nation of peace and saw that it was fast becoming a battlefield. He stared at Nicol, the face of the young EA soldier coming into his mind. They stayed like that for several seconds, before turning and running back to the Morgenrote building.

Jo stared at the battle going on in front of her. It was another few miles away, she was safe here. But Orb was a peaceful country, they shouldn't be fighting. Although, she knew as well as everyone else, the Orb military was hugely powerful. But a full scale attack on a country full of civilans, of _both_ races, that was wrong. With a sigh, she pressed the accelerator.

She only got a few feet further, before she had to make a sharpe dodge. _Well, so much for bein' safe._ An EA mobile suit flashed past her, flying low to the ground. The feet of the Caliber slipped on the support craft, but managed to stay on. Pulling the MS upright again, she glimpsed a family. They were on the ground and looked unhurt. She bit her lip. The mother and father looked middle aged and the two children...the boy looked older. He was protecting his sister. _Oh, Zack. Mama, Papa. Why did you all..._

Shaking her head and swallowing her tears, she again made her way towards the battle. _L', you told me to go to Orb for the Legged Ship, please tell me your information was solid. Cause if I have to fight this battle only to find that my target ain't here, I swear I'm hunting you down._

A warning flashed on the screen, forty percent power left. She shrugged and flew right into the thick of the battle.

From the other side, Dearka and Nicol entered. Nicol was upset, the M1 Astray had nowhere near the power of the Blitz, not to mention he'd had to rewrite the OS. Dearka was all safe and happy in the Buster. Nicol hadn't been let near it. Oh well, he guessed this hulk of junk would do.

Neither Buster or the M1 had the ability to fly, so they stayed on the ground and, after explaining to the new pilot of Strike (Well, Nicol had explained, Dearka had smirked), helped the Legged Ship to fend of the EA's mass production MS's. Which was a rather boring job as they were destroyed to easily. The two young pilot's shrugged. The numbers annoyed them though. There were too many.

Jo contacted the Legged Ship. Well, better make sure they didn't fire on her. The captain looked only a few years older then she was, maybe earily twenties? She winced as the young women asked sharply, 'Who are you?' Jo smiled, _Hey, it may show them I'm friendly_, And said, 'Ensign Joffie Wheeler of ZAFT, recently deserted and in serious shit right now. I'm not about to open fire, I'm here to join for your cause.' _Now, did that sound sucky or what. "Join for your cause"? What was I thinking?_

The young women looked skeptical. Jo smiled again. 'Really,' she added, 'Would I be here if I wasn't?' The women shook her head, slowly, and managed to return the smile. A second later, Jo was sent spiraling to the side in a rather rude reminder that this was a battle. Muscles shaking slightly from the shock, she fired back at the MS. It exploded with ease. _Um, OK, that was easy._

Soon, however, to everyones surprise, the EA retreated. She landed Caliber near the Legged Ship, a little harder then intended, and descended from the cockpit, pulling off her helmet. The sound of Athrun's voice caught her attention, and she turned to see a blonde girl attempting to choke both him and Strike's pilot. Hang on, wasn't that guy meant to be dead? She shook her head and caught sight of two other boys who were meant to be dead. Her breath caught.

'D..Dearka? Nicci?' she stammered. The entire flock of soldiers turned to face her, hell, even Athrun turned. He gasped as well. With almost baited breath, the four walked up to each other. Standing in a circle, they stared at each other, before screaming:

'YOU IDIOT!'

Well, what ya think? If there were somethings left unexplained about why Jo deserted, it will be explained next chapter. And I think we all know who the Orb family is. Well, hope y'all enjoyed and please leave a review? Please?


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Lad's, y'all know by now.

Hi everybody!(Cue weird yellow people: "Hi Docter Nic!"). Well, now Jo's on the AA. What ever will happen? Guys, this chapter is going to be all character and relationship development, in a kinda fluffy manner.

Chapter 15

Kira stared at the four teens. They'd all just been reunited, why were they calling each other idiots? When he'd come back to his friends, the welcome had been warm, homely, what was with these people? The noise from the ZAFT pilots escalated, causing him to wince.

'What the hell did you think you were DOING!' Nicol shrieked, pointing a finger at Athrun. 'Did you _really_ think that killing yourself would _solve_ anything!' 'I could ask _you_ the same question.' Athrun shot back. 'That wasn't the same, I was saving you!' That caused Athrun to laugh. 'Oh come _on_, Nicci! Be _serious_. All you did was cause the lot of us a ton of pain and guilt! You should have seen Yzak! It wasn't just me you hurt! It was the whole damn team! All I did was fulfil the mission we had from the start!' Nicol stared at him, white with shock. '_And_, you got the Blitz destroyed! That was powerful mobile weaponry! Much better than the Aegis.' The coldness in the way he said that caused them all to flinch. Nicol narrowed his eyes. 'Don't try to justify the taking of your own life! What you did was foolish and wrong!'

Kira watched this display in shock, and it continued, getting louder and more hystircal by the minute. Hysterics was spreading throughout the entire group. The other two youths were having an argument along the same lines, shrieking hysterically at each other, their voices piercingly loud.

'Careless! Absolutely, mindnumbingly _stupid_! What the heck were you _thinking? Were_ you thinking! Couldn't you have forwarded a message? Or _something_! MIA, we thought you were dead, damnit! What about...' 'Shut it, Little Lady! You have no idea what happened, so don't you even try it!' The girl stopped, the slender frame shaking with rage, her eye filling with tears. Dearka's face softened. 'Hey, I'm sorry, Little Lady.' 'I thought you were dead,' she sobbed, buring her head in his chest.

Dearka smiled. 'Come on now, Little Lady, no ship full of naturals could kill me, and no amount of exploding MS's can kill our two resident immortals.' He jerked his head pointedly at Nicol and Athrun, who had quitened down. They turned and smiled at her. She managed a smile, and turned to Kira.

The boy in question was staring at her, the size of that uniform explained. Small wasn't the word to describe her, she was _tiny. _Everything about her was tiny, from her narrow shoulders, to her small waist and tiny hands. She held herself proudly, standing as tall as her frame would allow. She gave him a smile, which ended up looking like a lioness pouncing on prey.

'Are you the former pilot of Strike?' She inquired sweetly. He nodded, eying her warily. Her smile grew. 'Oh, then I guess I own you this!' Next second, her small fist made contact with his face, driving him back a step. Shock coursed through him. She remained grinning. 'Now, next question, why were you eying me up?'

His jaw dropped, and the ZAFT team started snickering. Swallowing hard, he looked her squarely in the eye. 'I wasn't eying you up.' She raised her eyebrows. 'Oh? So you have a habit of staring at girls for no reason?' He shook his head, 'I have a reason.' Her smirk grew, if possible, grew even wider. 'Do tell.'

_Oh, way to go, Kira! Now what ya gonna do? "Oh, I tried on your uniform and I was just checking to see how small you really are."? Somehow, I don't think that's gonna work._

'W...well, do you know Lacus Clyne?' She nodded, confusion crossing her face. 'Um... well, do you leave your spare uniforms there? Cause if you do, I swear it wasn't my fault.' Her eye widened, 'You...you...' Unable to find something to say, she merely blushed and punched him in the nose. She then turned on her heel and strode away from him towards Cpt. Raimus. The woman seemed to be struggling not to laugh. Her team were laughing their heads off. He remained standing where he was, a rather spectacular beetroot red.

Mirilla couldn't believe that the ZAFT girl had been assigned a bed in her dorm. Since Flay had left, she'd had the room to herself. The girl hovered behind her, looking around the room. Mirilla shrugged and pointed to the bottom bunk across from her own. 'That's yours.' The girl smiled at her and walked across to the bed, flopping down on it with a sigh. Her small purple mouse curled up on her stomach. Mirella sighed as well, and went to the wardrobe.

'Here,' she said, tossing a pair of white trousers and an orange jacket at the girl. She glanced up at her. 'Trust you don't wanna spend the day in that flight suit.' She then proceeded to ignore the girl as she changed her clothes.

Tolle's name was still swimming in her head, as well as the comforting words from the blond ZAFT pilot. Why should he comfort her? After all, she'd tried to kill him. And yet, he'd been the only one to notice her running away. And she'd poured her heart into his chest. Why him, why not Sai or someone?

'I'm Joffie.' The girl's, Joffie, voice interupted her thoughts. She glanced up, and the girl seemed to take this as an invetation to continue. 'But my friend's call me Jo. Except the guy's, they call me Little Lady. I'd say you don't wanna call me that, so call me Jo. What's your name, or am I to stick with Seaman Second Class?' The last line was a little harsh in Mirilla's mind, but never the less she answered. 'No, you don't have to stick to my rank. My name's Mirilla, but you can call me Milly, my friend's call me that.'

Jo smiled at her. The jacket, Milly noticed, was tied around her waist and the blue tee-shirt was a little bit to short for her. The end of a pale scar was visible on her side. She didn't inquire about it, maybe Jo wasn't comfortable talking about it. She also was missing an eye, the patch standing out against the pale skin. Jo's hand moved up to touch the leather, going slightly pink. Milly instantly blushed as well. 'S...sorry,' she squeaked. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to stare.' Jo shrugged. 'Don't worry about it. Do you think you could show me to the bridge?' Milly nodded, standing.

_I've offended her. Why the heck was I staring at that patch? God, stupid, stupid, STUPID!_

Raimus stared at the four young pilots standind in front of her. The young female had just finished telling them about their ZAFT spy, and the bluennet had explained about their support from Ms Clyne. Her own crew looked disbelieving, and the ZAFT soldiers had noticed this. She, however, found it hard not to believe them. The two POW's had come back after being set free after all. Of course the other two had not one shred of proof about whose side they were on. But they had an honest look about them. And ZAFT were not stupid enough to put powerful weaponry, as well as two well known Ensigns, in the hands of the enemy.

She had to take precautions though. Not one of the pilots was to walk around the ship alone, and they were not allowed in the hanger unless involved in a battle or when accompanied by a crew member. They agreed to these with no complaint, all military rigid. She nodded and dismissed them. They followed the rest of the teens to the mess-hall for food.

Once they were gone, she turned to Mu. 'Well, what do you think of them?' She asked. The man looked at her. 'They seem honest, and are quite willing to comply to rules. I just have to wonder about that blue haired boy. He's been fighting against Kira for several months. He chose his team above his friend. That's going to lead to a few problems if you ask me.' Murre nodded, sighing.

Kira had not been prepared for the questions from the ZAFT team, who seemed to be half trying to slag their friend off and half trying to protect her. They were mostly trying to humiliate him.

'Soooooo, you tried on our Little Lady's uniform?' The blond pilot drawled, 'Why Strike, I didn't know you leaned that way.' He blushed, not sure whether the boy was joking or not. The "Little Lady" was going slightly red as well. And it was her, not him that managed a retort.

'I didn't know _you_ leaned that way either, Dearka,' she said sweetly. A bout of snickers broke out. 'So, who is it then?' The girl continued, in that same sweet, innocent voice. 'I know it's not Strike, so is it Nicci?' The green haired boy started and blushed. 'No...,' Dearka started, but she cut him off. 'Well if it's Yzak, you're a bit late, cause we're an item. And I don't think it's Zala, so who is it?'

'I don't like any of the guy's! I like...someone else.' At this, he blushed to the roots of his blond hair and his lilac eyes travelled to the girl behind Kira briefly. His teammates all grinned and he blushed even more.

Athrun, Kira noticed, seemed more at home with these people. He actually smiled around them, instead of the withdrawn, guarded look he wore most of the time. As he watched his once best friend laugh with these people, he couldn't help but wonder if the distance between them was too great to bridge.

So, that's it. God, I don't know why I'm so angsty. Everyone describes me as bouncy or happy-go-lucky, never angsty. I'm a happy person, I just can't seem to write anything without a small bit of angst. Is there a chapter in this that doesn't have angst? Anyways, sorry bout ranting. What y'all think?


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Guess what...it still ain't mine!

So, another update and the start of the space arc. Well, the second one. So, please tell me what ya think?

Chapter 16

Jo lay on her bed, wide awake. One very, very bad thing about the captain's rule: no more night time strolls. _And no Yzak to be there to insult me, or kiss me, or just be there. It's like I've lost him too, despite the fact I know I haven't._ She sighed. Milly had come back from her shift a while ago and had fallen asleep instantly. So that was a no go. She rolled onto her side and stared at the door, listening to the silence. Footsteps sounded through the ringing.

She sat bolt upright, her body tense. Slowly, she swung her feet out of bed and silently pulled on the white trousers, before walking to the door. Her bare feet made no sound on the hard floor, but the cold caused her body to shiver violently. The footsteps outside paused right in front of the door and it slid open. Reflexs acting before her mind had time to assess the situation, she sprang on top of the figure, pinning the bigger frame underneath her.

'Wh..what do you think you're doing!' came the muffled voice from under her hand. She peered closer, squinting in the gloom. Recognising the profile as one of the members of the bridge, Set or something, she blushed and pushed herself off him.

'Sorry,' she whispered, 'Sorry, I...well, habit.' He sat up, fixing his glasses. 'Habit? You mean you attack your teammates out of _habit_?' She shrugged, 'Does pinning each other to walls and screaming at each other count?' The boy nodded. She followed suit, 'Oh, well then yeah.'. He shook his head, and pushed himself to his feet, offering her a hand. She accepted and he pulled her up as well. The move reminded her of her first kiss with Yzak and she suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to cry. Swallowing the sob rising in her throat, she looked away from the boy. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

'Hey? Do you think you could go for a walk with me? I can't sleep and sometimes walking helps.' He looked surprised, but nodded. She smiled, 'Thanks, Set isn't it?' 'Sai,' he corrected. She nodded, 'Sai.'.

Sai glanced at the girl walking beside him. It was amazing the strength in that tiny frame. And it was tiny.

'How are you even let into a mobile suit? I know from Kira that you have to be over a certin weight to be a pilot.' At that, she laughed, her head tilted back. It was strange, that was a trait of many naturals. In fact, the differance between the races was minamal. Except no natural would have purple hair, or green hair.

'Me? Have you seen me at meal times? I eat like a horse! I'm only so small because I use it all up on nervous energy! Hell, even Nicci weighs less than me! In fact, none of the other three even eat dessert! Me and Dearka always ended up with two and a half!' He laughed at that, feeling his face flush slightly. She caught the faint pink tinge, looking at him in a confused mannor. He looked down into her face.

'You know, Nicci looks a lot younger than the rest of you.' She still stared at him, before slowly saying, 'No, I'm the youngest. Nicci's nine months older than me.' He nodded. 'Oh... Well, um, what's he like when...not in a battle.' She remained quite, raising an eyebrow suspisciously. Then her eye widened to a rather colossal size and she grabbed his collar, driving him into the wall. He winced in pain, staring down at her angry face.

'Wh...what?' he stammered. 'What do you want with Nicci? If you ever hurt him I will _personally_ make sure you _live_ to regret it!' His jaw dropped, remembering that Nicci had died once, and that had driven the pilot of the Aegis to almost kill himself. They were so close to each other. He looked her in the eye and said sincerely, 'I would never hurt Nicol. I would die before I did.' She stared up at him. He placed his hands loosly round her wrists. 'I promise.'

Her hands uncoiled themselves from the material of his jacket. 'Alright, but I mean it.' He smiled, 'So do I. Now, we should probaby head back to bed.' She nodded and followed him back to her room.

'Here we are. Goodnight Jo.' Sai said as he opened the door of the room. He made to leave, but she caught his shoulder. He turned, confused. She beamed at him, 'Call me Little Lady.' He stared at her. Wasn't that the petname her teammates used? And she was letting _him_ use it? He nodded, feeling slightly amazed. Her grin grew, and she turned back and walked into the dark room.

Flay jumped as the eerie glass gaze turned on her. 'What do you mean she said "Tell Onii-Chan I'm sorry"!' The calmness of his voice startled her, this was his sister they were talking about after all. And his little sister at that. 'That's all, I don't know what she meant. She just said not to call an alarm because no-one would listen and to tell you sorry and then she walked out. I didn't know what she was planning on doing.'

The man nodded and turned to the silver-haired teen standing beside her. A large bruise stood out against his pale skin. 'Yzak, would you please give me your report on the incident.' The boy nodded.

'At 0800 hours I entered the hanger to do a check up on the Duel. Some fifteen minutes later, Ensign Wheeler entered and walked over to the Caliber. It was obvious she hadn't noticed me, and I had no reason to be suspiscious just yet. I approached her to find out what she was doing, and noticed she was wearing her flight suit. She seemed to hear me moving towards her as she turned sharply. She told me she was sorry, and attacked. I'm afraid that's all I know sir.'

After the boy finished, Flay turned back to Commander le Creuset. He was staring at the boy in a calculating mannor. 'Well then, Yzak, as you have now found out, the Caliber and a support craft are gone. Ensign Wheeler has deserted ZAFT and taken some powerful weaponry. Where she has gone, we don't yet know. But if she is ever found by our side, she will stand trial and be executed for her crime.' The boy flinched, was he close to this "Ensign Wheeler"?

She didn't have time to ask. Commander le Creuset turned back to her. 'Mrs Alister, we will be heading to space soon. I'm afraid you cannot be seen in that EA uniform. I will have Yzak fetch you a ZAFT uniform and you must address me and other senior crew members as "Sir", understood?' She nodded, feeling shaky. Did this make her an offical member of the ZAFT army? Did this mean she was on the same side as the monsters of her childhood nightmares? She looked up at the commander. He had her father's voice. And he was protecting her. He was giving her a uniform to avoid attacks. To stop her getting hurt. Were these people really monsters? She improved her stance and saluted. 'Yessir!'

It was strange, to be fighting on the same side as the boy who'd blinded her in one eye. It was strange to be shouting warnings and strategies to the man who'd killed many of her kind. And yet, here she was, doing just that. The space launch had just been anounced and the EA had attacked not moments later. Their job: Hold off the EA until everything is ready and then get the fuck outta dodge. She glanced over at Strike. By all rights she shouldn't be watching his back. But he was her superior officer so she followed her orders and slashed the suit aiming for his back.

Mu spun round at the sound of ripping metal. The Caliber was standing back to back with him. It's pilot, ZAFT's Bloodstained Angel. A bitter taste formed in his mouth. An angel? Yes, she was. An angel born in hell. Her title, her power had come from the midst of a raging war. As had his. He was a hawk, she was an angel. Both spirits of the air, yet trapped by grounded war gods.

His radio crackled to life, and Murre's voice sounded through it. 'Lt Flaga? Pull back to the ship. We're launching in a few minutes and none of the suits bar Freedom and Justice have the ability to fly. You'll need to be on the ship when it launchs or you'll be left behind!' He pressed the call button and contacted Caliber.

'Jo, move back to the ship!' Her voice crackled from the recievor. 'Why?' He sighed. Well, that was to be expected. He pushed the call button again. 'Long story, to little time. Retreat now, and tell your companions to follow.' Her voice sounded one more time, only to say 'Yessir!', and then the massive bulk of Caliber, followed closely by Buster and the M1 with the green haired boy close behind her. He smiled and followed as well.

The touchdown to the ship was a bit of a jolt, partly because she wasn't used to the layout of the ship yet. Sighing, she stood beside Dearka and Flaga at the open door to hold the enemies of for as long as possible. All too soon, the door closed and they rushed the suits to their stations to be nailed down before real damage was done to the ship and the suits.

Jo descended from the Caliber and strode over to Dearka. 'D'you know what's happening out there?' she asked. He nodded slowly. 'Zala and Yamato are still out there.' She dropped her helmet with a loud clunk.

'Zala's still out there? But...but if he doesn't make it...then he'll be left behind!' Suddenly, a major jolt caused them all to stagger and grab the nearest thing possible. Jo groaned as her feet left the ground with the angle of the ship. 'We probably should've stayed in our cockpits,' Flaga yelled, seeming to be thoroughly enjoying himself. She growled at him. 'No shit, Sherlock!'

Then came the loud, unmistakable sound of an explosion from below them. Confusion crossed the faces of all in the hanger. 'What was that!' Dearka yelled over the noise of the engines. There was no answer from anyone until the noise and heat died down and the hanger rightened itself up. The pilots looked up.

'Well, I'm never doing that again!' Jo moaned pushing herself to her feet. The others followed suit, the low gravity raising them a few inches of the ground. Flaga floated to the door. 'Come on, we gotta report to the bridge and find out what the hell happened!' he yelled. The others followed him.

Murre looked thoroughly upset. Jo had her hands over her mouth and Nicol and Mu were hanging their heads looking solemn. Dearka, however, had his hands on his hips and was glaring at them. 'Um, guys,' he stated, 'Attha gave us this headstart. He destroyed the mass driver to give us some time. And you're going to waste it moping? Is this the ship that kicked our asses or what?' The last comment earned him two elbows in the ribs but it seemed to do it's job. Life sprang into the crew again as Freedom and Justice docked in the hanger.

Yay, I'm done! God the whole space launch seems crap! But it was really hard to do cause I don't know most of what goes on in that episode. So can you forgive me that one screw up and keep R&Ring? Please?


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Don't own. Ya have to know it by now.

Nobody kill me! I'm real sorry. I know I haven't updated in ages. Been sidetracked. But here's chapter 17, so put down the pitchforks. Oh, and a really big thanks to my reviewers! I love you all.

Chapter 17

She's gone...she left me. That one thought was all that ran through Rau's head on his way to his office. She was gone. Jo was gone. He'd known she wouldn't stay with him, he'd known it. Why had he even dared to hope? Why had she made him hope? Why did she have to say "Onii-chan" and make him trust her? And why did he let her? How did her smile...how did she...why did she...

Jay watched sadly, unseen in the back round. Rau, she has her own path to take. I may have seen her as the one, but this still doesn't stop her from being human. She will come back, and she will do what I know she can. Give her time, she hasn't forsaken you.

Dearka tore down the corridor of the Archangel, heading straight to the bathroom/shower room. Geez, the one time he actually needed the little lady, the girl decided to take a shower. Hopefully, the news he had would stop her killing him.

The door opened smoothly, revealing the purple haired girl and Mirella. Both of them turned to face him, apparently to stunned to move. Something that wouldn't last. He didn't even bother to take in that they were both only have dressed.

'Little Lady, Zala's heading back to PLANTs!' he yelled. The girl snapped out of her shock, pulled her tee-shirt on and ran out onto the corridor, forgetting completely about her shoes and jacket. Her wet hair smacked his face as she pushed past him. He followed her, only after he'd taken a last apologizing look at Mirella. She was blushing.

Athrun had only manged to get away from Cagalli's acusing glare, when he was sent reeling to the side as Jo rammed into him. She glared at him, her dark hair dripping. He sighed. 'Little Lady, I...'

'Am going to be an idiot and get myself killed!' she finished, angrily. 'Athrun, you can't go back to PLANT, not now. If you go back without Freedom, or at least a report, your father and the council aren't going to forgive you. At least think about this!'

Athrun looked away from her. 'Little Lady, I have to do this. I have to speak to my father.' Jo shook her head at him, and pulled Luch from her pocket. He stared, and she pushed it into his hands. 'Remember exactly any series of squeaks it emits and replay them to me when you get back. That's our informant contacting us. Until then, he'll look after you. He's managed to look after me. Luch really is good look.'

He smiled. 'Thank you, Little Lady.'

Dearka showed up behind her, panting. Athrun hadn't managed to convince him to take the Justice, and the Little Lady wouldn't either. Nicol had also refused point blank. Cagalli was still glaring at him. He sighed, at least they'd agreed to let him go.

Dearka watched as the shuttle pulled out of the hanger. The Little Lady turned to him as soon as it was gone. Her hands were on her hips. 'Dearka,' she said, her voice deadly calm. She was upset about Zala leaving, but she was also upset about... he swallowed.

'Dearka, I was only half dressed when you told me. I had been in the shower, I might have been naked. Why did you open the door without knocking?'

That wasn't said in her usual voice, she sounded strained. Nicol was also watching them, noting the change in her voice. 'Little Lady, do you need to talk?' She shook her head, and turned away, her hair flying around in the low gravity like a mini explosion. It was the first time he'd ever seen her hair down, and it was a mess of purple strands. It made her look more her age.

After she'd gone, he turned to Nicol. 'What the hell was that about?' The younger boy shrugged. 'Her onii-chan, maybe?' Dearka's jaw dropped. 'Didn't her brother die before the Bloody Valentine? Why would that affect her now? She hasn't even mentioned it in all the time we've known her. That can't be it.'

Nicol sighed. 'She never told you, did she? She mentioned it to me a few days ago, only in passing. Commander Creuset became her onii-chan. I don't think she meant to tell me, she just said it.' Dearka's jaw hit the ground.

Athrun quickly changed into his uniform. The amulet bounced of his chest, and he closed his hand around it breifly. Then closed his coat and shoved Luch in his pocket. Hopefully the mouse wouldn't squeak in the meeting. Please don't squeak during the meeting.

His father looked angered, and he drew in a quite breath. Where was his father in that cold chairman? Where was the man that had loved Lenore Zala? Where was the man who actually looked at that picture on his desk.

'Where are the Freedom and Justice?' his father barked, and he flinched. This was not going to end well.

Jo slid down the wall of her room. Onii-chan, Onii-chan, please forgive me. Tears slid slowly down her cheek and she broke down. The door slid open slilently, and Milly stepped hesitantly into the room.

'Jo? Jo what's wrong?' She didn't even glance up, just continued to cry into her knees. Milly knelt down in front of her. 'Did you lose someone?' Milly did the only thing she could think of. She pulled the young coordinator into a hug.

'M..my onii-chan. I l...left h..him with..out saying g...good..bye,' Jo choked out, and Milly tightened her embrace. 'Tolle left me without saying goodbye. It does hurt... but you shouldn't put yourself through this,' she whispered. Jo didn't answer, just sobbed.

Athrun curled up on the floor, pain jolting his entire body. His father had shot him? His father had just shot him. The backup his father had called in earlier pulled him to his feet. The man was standing away from him, looking somewhat stunned. Athrun looked away, and let himself be led out of the room.

Lacus hated sneaking around like this, but she hated more that Athrun had deliberately

gone and put himself in danger. Which was why DaCosta had gone on ahead. She sighed, if they made it out of this, and if Jo had made it to the Archangel, maybe she'd see her friend again. She sighed.

"L', you can't be serious! Leave ZAFT, leave my nation? Why? Give me one good reason! " It was amazing that she'd actually agreed. And doubly amazing that she'd managed to convince Jule to turn spy. Jo seemed to have that knack. Which was also why she hadn't needed to become a soldier. She could have used her voice in peace talks. She could've avoided that pain. But...then again, it was the army that had saved Jo's life. If she hadn't been in the army, then she would've died with Junius Seven.

'Miss Lacus, we're here.' That was Waltfeld. She smiled at him. 'Has Athrun and DaCosta arrived yet?' she asked. The man laughed.

'The prince has not yet graced us with his royal presence. But don't worry, DaCosta will bring him. The man doesn't fail to handy.'

As if by some strange cue, a shuttle docked in the hanger. Mere seconds later, DaCosta and Athrun arrived on the bridge. She smiled at them, and Athrun's jaw dropped. The Eternal started picking up speed, but it was not fast enough for the Mobile Suits chasing them. Athrun seemed to switch into soldier mode instantly.

'Waltfeld, are there any Mobile Suits I can use?' he barked. Lacus stared at him, he was in no condition to fly a mobile suit, not with that bullet wound in his shoulder. The boy didn't seem to care. Andy turned around.

'You're outta luck, Prince. This thing was only designed to carry Freedom and Justice, and we don't have either!' Athrun growled. Being helpless was not something he was good at. Lacus sighed.

Freedom came out of nowhere, opening fire on the suits. She blew upwards, ruffling her fringe. Waltfeld docked into the Mendal colonly, alongside the Archangel and another ship. Lacus practically flew of the ship, and past the captain, looking franticly around for any sight of purple hair.

She was standing beside the two other members of the Creuset unit, her hair pulled back in its usual messy bun/plait. Lacus didn't stop to think, but ran up and wrapped in a tight hug. The girl hugged her back, laughing hysterically.

'Jo, I know how you felt after Junius Seven,' she whispered. 'I'm sorry I didn't understand sooner.'

Finito! Booya! I finally updated! Please R&R?


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Don't own!

Yeah, I'm updating again. Thanks to all my reviewers!

Special thanks to WilltheWatcher. Thank you for your advice and support. I can safely say I would have given up without you. You have been there since the start, and now that I'm nearly through, I have to thank you!

Chapter 18

Jo froze as Lacus' arms closed around her. The girl was shaking. As in really shaking! She opened her mouth to speak, but Lacus cut her off. Her voice stunned Jo. It had never sounded so lost, so sad...so _scared_.

'Jo, I know how you felt after Junius Seven. I'm sorry I didn't understand sooner,' the girl whispered, voice thick with tears. For a second, Jo didn't understand. Then realization hit her, shock crashing over her like a tidle wave. Her body went slack, so she couldn't even return her friend's hug.

'Uncle Siegel...he's dead?' she gasped. Lacus didn't answer, but her sobs intensified. Jo shook her head, and grabbed her friend's shoulders, pulling Lacus away from her and forcing the older girl to look her in the eye. 'L', please God tell me you're not joining this fight for revenge! Because it doesn't work!' Tears started running down her face. 'Please L', you're above that! You're above me, you're not the type to take revenge. Please tell me you're not going to, please!'

Lacus stared at her for several minutes and then shook her head. 'Joffie Wheeler, in all the time I've known you, I've never heard you say anything so stupid.' Jo faltered, startled. Lacus continued to shake her head, the flow of tears never stopping. 'I am not fighting for revenge. You should have known that. I am fighting to end this war. I am fighting for equality, which is what my father wanted.' Here, the songstress stopped, casting her pained eyes over the people around her.

'And I'm fighting because I can't watch all the people I love shatter, while I sit safe and happy, hiding behind a mound of broken bodies. I can't watch your eyes age beyond your years, and at the end, to only have a knowledge of pain and loss. I can't watch all of you cry your hearts dry, and then never cry again. I can't watch you die for the peace I want as well, while I do nothing. I forced you away from your nation, I forced you to run. Now it's my turn to take a stand. Now it's my turn to protect you, to fight alongside you. And to sit with you at the end, and know that I did something.'

Jo stared at her, her blue-green eye wide. And then she smiled, and saluted. 'Well then Commander Clyne, I would be pleased to serve under you, as your friend and commrade. Ensign Joffie Wheeler of the Clyne Faction, at your service.'

Lacus stared at her, stunned. Her eyes widened even more, when the former members of ZAFT also saluted her, and addressed her as Commander. Seemingly encouraged, the salute followed throughout the entire group. Lacus stared at the people around her, the same smile Jo wore lighting up her features. And then, after staring hard at Jo's salute, copied her.

Jo giggled, and lowered her hand. The rest followed suit, and Jo continued giggling. Lacus glared at her. 'What?'

'God, you looked so clumsy doing that. Kinda like I did the first time I met a superior. Like you know what to do, but you can't. We're gonna have to work on that!'

Lacus pouted, watching her friend with delight. It had been so long since Jo had laughed like that. Granted, it was about saluting. Clearly, she was still in a war state of mind, but she was _laughing_.

Suddenly, Jo's hand was clasped around her arm, and she found herself being propelled towards Kira. Smirking, Jo shoved her into his arms. Blushing, she spun to look furiously at her friend. Jo smiled. 'I don't approve of your taste in boys. But then, you never approved of mine, so...yeah.' And she walked away, her hair bouncing as several strands fell loose.

Lacus stared after her, Kira beside her. He turned to her, staring at the smile she wore. Lacus turned to him. No words passed between them. No words were needed. She simply smiled, tears running down her face again, and he wrapped his arms around her.

Yzak Jule was not sure what to think as he tapped out the series of squeaks. He wasn't sure if he was right, or wrong. But he trusted Jo, he trusted Lacus Clyne. He trusted everyone who had walked away from their alligence to fight this battle. Well, apart from the crew of the legged ship. He didn't know them, but he did know that if they ever touched a hair on Jo's head, he would kill them. And now, Zala had left for this fight as well. After that botched atempt to talk with his father. Waltfeld had gone too. At this rate, on-one would be left on either side.

A feeble rap on the door interrupted his train of thought. He turned, his ice blue eyes fixed in a glare. The young natural at the door shrank visably under it. He smirked. God, that girl acted so scared.

Jo never had. He'd known very few girls in his life, and Flay Alister and Joffie Wheeler were the main ones. And they were so different. Jo had stolen his heart, and the heart of the commander. Jo was tough, and kind, and so gentle. Flay was weak, a manipulitive little bitch who was afraid of her own past. Afraid of all the times she'd screwed up in the war.

'What?' he barked. She flinched again.

'Um, well, the commander requested me in his office...and, I don't know how to get there.' He stared at her in utter disbelief. She blushed to the tips of her flaming hair, and looked away. 'So...can you take me there.'

He sighed. 'Fine!' At this point, Jo would've smiled...well, smirked. Flay merely nodded nervously and followed him. It still wracked his pride that she was dressed in the forest green of a ZAFT soldier. Then again...it probably wracked _her_ pride to be wearing the damn thing.

He walked briskly, leaving her struggling to catch up. He didn't slow down, even when she nearly tripped. And when he stopped at the right door, she nearly ran into him. He growled and knocked, then walked away, leaving her standing alone in front of the door.

Flay stared after the silver haired boy. What was it about her that seemed to offend him so much? Wasn't she being tolerant of his race. Couldn't he at least be tolerant of one natural?

The door slid open, to reveal Rau le Creuset. She glanced up at him, instantly feeling much safer. Rau looked at her strangely for several seconds, as though not seeing her. And, unbidden, that girl's voice came into her head. _"Tell Onii-chan I'm sorry."_

He saw his little sister in the middle distance? He saw that girl. A feeling of intense sadness washed over her. Her protector, the one she needed right now, wasn't even seeing her. He saw someone else - OK, granted, his baby sister. But still...

Rau snapped out of his trance, and gave her his usual smile. 'Ah, Miss Alister, come in,' he said, his rich velvet tones wrapping a blanket of comfort around her. He saw her again, she was safe again, and still the question left her lips.

'You miss her, don't you? Your baby sister.' Rau faltered, and she could almost see his eyes widening. She bowed her head. 'Will she really be killed if she's found?' Rau nodded slowly. Tears, invisible, silent, but still there, fell from concealed eyes. And Flay looked at his face, sensing the danger. And sensing an impossible sadness that was older and deeper than anything she knew. She dropped the subject and looked away. He didn't want to talk, and she didn't want to lose her protector, the man with her father's voice. She dropped the subject and stepped inside the room.

Manuvering his still stiff arm into his flight suit was hard, as the wound had not yet healed. But Athrun managed it anyway. He sighed and glanced around the room. And laughed. The Little Lady was causing a scene, jumping on the spot, trying to pull her boot on. Dearka was laughing as well, and Nicci looked ready to jump and catch her should she fall.

And then he felt a wave of sadness washed over him. After this battle...he'd be going over to the Eternal. He'd never see this again. Never get this pre-battle breather. The tension was still there between him and Kira...so that was going to be great fun.

He just hoped that they wouldn't die. He hoped they wouldn't leave him too. He was startled out of these depressing thoughts when the Little Lady landed on him. He growled softly, and Dearka laughed all the harder. Hell, even Nicci started laughing. He couldn't help but chuckle and push the girl off him. She was laughing too as she took his hand. And he saw what Lacus had meant by "Eyes aged beyond her years."

And then they left for the hanger, helmets under their arms. Luch was going along for the ride, as usual.

And as he sat behind the controls of Justice, he felt his mind numb. This was a battle...this was home.

Well, any better? Please R&R?


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Do not own!

Hey everybody! Howya all these days? Well, anywho, here's an update! A big shoutout to all you wonderful people out there who take the time to review! I love you.

The launch screen on the Legged Ship was different. Jo couldn't help but notice it. She smiled slightly. Everywhere she looked, there were signs that she was no longer with her nation, and that the council saw her as a tratior. Everywhere, there were people who'd grown up hating and fearing her, the same way she'd felt about them. And now, they were putting their faith in her, as she was for them. They trusted her with their lives, and she trusted them.

Though she couldn't deny that she was scared of them still. Her smile faded as the signel came and the catapult propelled her out into the blackness of space.

Cpt Raimus' voice crackled through the speaker. 'Strike, Buster and Caliber, you three stay and cover the Archangel!' She scowled. Zala and Yamato got to go head on against the Dominion...while she was stuck back here? Shaking her head, she shouted:

'Zala! If you get a hit in on that ship, tell that racist son of a bitch, Azrail, that it's from me! I got an old score with that stupid bunch of racist bastards! And that goes for you too, Cpt. Raimus! You tell them it's from me!'

Murrue's face showed nothing but shock. Athrun merely nodded. She smiled at them, and then set about preparing for the battle.

Nicol stared around from his position among the Astray girls. He still felt slightly upset that the rest of his team were still in their old MS's while he was stuck in this mass production piece of crap. Athrun had even succeeded in getting a fancy new model, which he really didn't see as fair.

His job right now was to protect Orb's ship. He had also been transferred to that ship, where he didn't know anyone. Jo and Dearka were staying on the Legged Ship and Athrun was on the Eternal. He sighed and shook his head as Orb's princess started shouting out orders. And then he was trapped in the heat of battle, suddenly not caring what sort of weaponry he was in.

He sighed. Why did this feel so much safer here then on the ship? Why did this cockpit seem so much like a second home? And why couldn't he think of an answer to those questions that he liked?

Jo smiled, watching Nicol take command of a handful of M1's, turning what could have been a mess of unorganized attacks into something controled and formidable. And she'd never thought that Nicci had it in him. Her smile faltered, though, when a new wave of attacks fell on her, almost swamping her. Growling, she forced the EA's MS's back into Dearka and Mu, and between the three of them, they managed to reduce the numbers. A bead of sweat made its steady way down her nose, dripping off the end. There didn't seem to be an end to this...

Her muscles were begining to shake from the strain of the constant attacks, and she could guess from Dearka's voice that he was feeling the same. 'Hey Pops, where ya going!' the older pilot yelled.

Hang on, what was Dearka on about? Pops? Spinning the Caliber around, she saw that Mu was begining to fly off, back in the direction of the Mendal Colony. Confused, she headed after Dearka in persuit of the man. Nicci made to follow, but she ordered him to stay behind. Reducing their forces anymore wasn't good, particularly with those stupid MS's. Nicci looked vaguely hurt, but nodded.

Beads of sweat were almost obstructing her vision, when they flew past the Eternal. She could almost see Lacus' look of surprise when the girl saw them. She bit back a grin and allowed Dearka to explain what the heck was going on. She didn't have a clue at this point so there really wasn't much point in her trying to explain.

'He says ZAFT is here! Yeah, _that_ guy. In any case, we're goin' over to check it out, this could be trouble if he's right!' Dearka explained over the com. Her breath hitched.

_ZAFT? ...Onii-chan...? Could he be...?Butif Onii-chan was...then..._ She shook her head and followed the Strike down the twisting path through the colony.

Rau allowed himself a grim smile as he and Yzak drifted a few feet above the coloneys floor. The place was deserted, though it wouldn't be for long. Mu would most likely be here soon. And even as the thought made its lazy way across his mind, the man's presance flashed.

Glancing up, he saw that three machines were making their way over. The Strike, the Buster, and... NO! What the heck was that thing doing here? What was she doing here? She couldn't be here! She just couldn't be!

But she was. There was no mistaking that voice. Joffie Wheeler was standing on the opposite side of a battlefield, behind the man he'd grown to hate. She was currently telling the pilot of the Buster to talk to Yzak, and that she'd back up Flagga. It was that voice that had called him Onii-chan. That voice that had caused him to flush at the most arkward times. That voice, that face, that person that he'd come to love. The person that he'd sworn to protect.

Growling, he attempted to ignore her, to focus all his anger on Mu. But his "baby sister" was proving herself as useful backup. Everytime he tried to get a hit in on Mu, she was there, shield up and gun at the ready. If it was any other person, he would feel nothing but anger at her annoyingness, but all he felt was a growing ache building up in his chest. It stunned him, and it annoyed him. As long as she was here, he couldn't do anything. He couldn't bring himself to open fire on her cockpit, he doubted she'd let him anyway. And she was constantly there if Mu seemed to be in trouble.

So, feeling the ache in his chest intensify, he shot a leg of the Caliber. The massive war lord lurched forward and fell, causing a huge dust cloud to rise. Biting back the cry for her safety, he turned on Mu, who was lunging at him. Thrusting his saber at Strike's torso, he hit just above the cockpit. Strike crashed as well, to the left of the downed Caliber.

He could kill Mu now, and take Jo back with him. He could protect her from the council until the time came for him to make his move. And then he could save her, along with all of humanity. But, as if by some strange curse, it wasn't to be. Another flash came through his mind, and he turned.

The Freedom came sailing out of nowhere, guns blazing. Angrily, he heard Jo and Mu cry to the pilot. Though they only seemed confused as to what he was doing here. They were met with silence as the Freedom's artillery made short work of his mobile suit. He came down, missing Caliber's head by inches.

There was nothing else for it. He needed to bring Mu into the factory, he needed the man to understand the evils humanity, the evil of greed. And if Jo decided to follow, well there was nothing he could do about that. The ache in his chest was still there, not changing, just existing. It worried him. It had only appeared when Jo had. It had gotted worse when Jo had fallen by his hand. Was it something to do with the girl, or merely a side effect? He wanted it to be a side effect, for maybe the first time, he wanted this to be a side effect. But something told him it wasn't. Jo was causing this. Somehow, Jo was causing this.

Grabbing his gun, he leapt out of his cockpit and raced across the yard towards the factory.

Jo massaged her left hand. The sharp impact had caused her fingers to thrust forward across the control pannal, and something had definetly snapped. It didn't hurt that much, just ached. She sighed.

Then her ears perked as she heard an all-to-familer voice. 'Come with me, Mu. And I, myself shall deliever your requiem!' Her heart nearly stopped. The man in that suit, the one she'd fought against, the one to shoot her down was... Tears suddenly formed in her eye and slide down her face.

'Oh _shit_!' she screamed, grabbing her gun and practicly flying out of the Caliber.

Kira landed Freedom and watched in shock as Mu and Jo ran headlong towards and old building. He could just make out Rau le Creuset running a few feet ahead of them. All three of them had guns at the ready. He sighed and picked up his own, staring at it for a few seconds in fascination. And he suddenly wished that Jo or Mu had stayed back. He didn't have a bulls notion how to use this thing!

Tentivly, he closed his hand around the handle, index finger loose and hanging near the trigger. Yeah...that looked about right. And without a second thought, he tore after the others, who had already entered the building.

At the sound of footsteps behind him, Mu turned. ZAFT's Angel was just a few steps behind him, holding a gun ready. He glared at her, hoping she could make out his angry face in the dim light. She seemed to, as she lifted her scarred face and glared right back.

'What are you doing?' he barked, making sure his voice was low. She looked away. 'I got my reasons, you got yours.' Her words were clipped and defensieve, and she kept her face to the wall. He sighed, whatever reason she had, she wasn't going to tell him.

'Fine, just don't put one in my back and stay focused!' he whispered and turned. He could almost see her purple eyebrows raising.

'Are you suggesting that I'm a bad shot? Or that I can't handle a gun?' she asked, and he smiled. Her questions weren't meant as a challange, and the defensieve edge to her voice was gone. He was about to answer when Rau's voice cut through the air.

'Don't you remember this place Mu?' Rau's voice was full of surpressed laughter, though he could almost taste the tears. It angered him even more, but he was once again cut off from answering. ZAFT's angel took a step forward and yelled:

'What are you on about?'

Rau froze at the sound of her voice. He knew she'd follow, she wasn't the type to sit back and watch. Plus, she'd probably seen him. But her voice, her sweet, musical voice, in this place of sin. It was a crime for her to see what Mu would. It was a crime for the evil in these walls to ever hear or see something so beautiful. It was a crime for past sins to touch her, for her to see this horror, and thus become a part of it. It was a crime, but one he couldn't prevent. He had come to far.

'Come and see!' he yelled back, feeling a strange sensation in his eyes. Like they were filling up with fluid. And he realized that it was tears. Tears he would never let fall. Not in front of the man...and the boy who'd just joined them. And not in front of Jo, even though it was her that was causing them.

Well, that's it. Tell me what you think. And if Rau's OOC, then I'm very sorry. I just felt that the series showed nothing on him really during those episodes, even though they were about him, so yeah. Please R&R? Oh, and i'm sorry bout any spelling mistakes, spell checker's busted!


	20. Chapter 20

Hi everyone! I'm back! A big thanks to all my reviewers. You guys are the best!

Just a little note, this chapter skips the confrontation, and only has flashbacks of the event. I've done this before, for the same reason, this chapter just wouldn't work any other way. I hope you don't mind. And if you're confused as to what the heck goes on in this chapter, all will be explained within the next few.

Right, well, I think that's everything. Hope you enjoy!

_'Don't touch her. Don't touch my baby sister.'_

_"Onii-chan? Onii-chan what are you talking about?"_

It was dark as he ran. Away from her shrieks. Away from her, full stop. He couldn't... couldn't believe... couldn't understand...

_"Onii-chan, please just listen to me!"_

Why was she always there! Why was it her face written over with horror, confusion, shock. Her face, her beautiful face. The only face in that room that didn't hold an accusation. That didn't hold hatred.

She was one that knew all-to-well the effects of human hatred and greed. So why didn't she hate them back? Why could she, should she, raise her gun with no anger, only pained understanding. Why didn't she hate him?

_"Onii-chan, I don't care! Why can't you understand that? I don't care who that man is! I don't even know him! I don't care how you were born! It doesn't matter! You're Rau le Creuset, a commander in the ZAFT army and my Onii-chan! You are not Al de Flagga!"_

Her gun clattering to the ground, her tiny hands gripping the front of his uniform. Her voice sobbing, full of nothing but love. Untainted, unlimited. His anger as he threw her away. His cry.

_"Nobody can do anything about it, for this whirlpool of hatred is engulfing the universe!"_

Her on the ground, crying, screaming. Not from physical pain, not because of him, but for him. Her voice ringing after him, overpowering Mu's.

_"You don't believe that, Onii-chan! You don't! I know you don't! You... you can't..."_

She had said he didn't believe what he was saying. But she hadn't told him he was lying, either. But why couldn't he believe it? Why shouldn't he? What evidence said he didn't?

_'I'll always protect you, because I'll never stop loving you.'_

His confession. Marked by tears. Her tears, not his. All the proof she needed.

He continued to run.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mu had said he could stand. Mu still had the will to stand. Getting Jo to her feet was going to prove much harder. Which was why he called Dearka. The older boy was on his way. But he couldn't leave her alone while he waited. Maybe if he at least got her to move. Maybe he would be able to do that.

'Jo... come on. We gotta go,' he whispered, kneeling in front of her. She looked up at him, her purple hair almost completely loose. She looked younger. 'We gotta go,' he said again, hoping to get another reaction. He did, but not the right one.

Her face scrunched up, fresh tears spilling down her cheek. The start of a pained sob sounded in the open air, the rest of it muffled by his chest. She didn't care where she was, he realized. She didn't care about the danger she was in. All she cared about was what Rau had said. All she cared about was her Onii-chan.

He sighed and stroked her hair with one hand, using the other to guide her too her feet. Her tiny frame came up with him easily. Looking at her, he'd never realized just how small she really was. She felt so fragile now that he was holding her. He'd never understood... she always looked strong. He'd never understood how breakable she really was.

Dearka burst into the room, gun in hand, lilac eyes darting around wildly, taking in the mess. Taking in Mu's semi-conscious form, Kira's worried face and Jo's body in Kira's arms.

'Little Lady...' he whispered, started to come towards them.

'She's alive,' Kira said, 'But Mu won't be soon. Could you take him?' Dearka still stared at his comrade. She hadn't even noticed that someone new had entered the room.

'I suppose you'll explain this later,' he growled. It wasn't a question. Kira nodded, hoping that the ZAFT pilot would hurry. Dearka nodded and hoisted Mu to his feet. The man leaned heavily on the smaller frame. Kira smiled and gentle picked Jo up. She continued to sob into his neck. Dearka reached out and touched her damp hair.

'Hush, Little Lady,' he whispered. 'There's no need for tears like that. Our spy says he misses you and loves you more every moment.'

Kira stared at him, a smile curling once again on his lips. Dearka nodded and they left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jo curled up like a kitten the minute Kira placed her back inside the Caliber. He stared at her. Even with her helmet back on, even though she was back inside a weapon of mass destruction, she still didn't look anything like her old self. She still looked so broken. Rau's mask was still clutched in her hands, the index and middle fingers of her left hand out at odd angles. He sighed and closed the cockpit.

Dearka was glaring at him when he jumped down. He returned it with equal vigor.

'I'm getting the two of them outta here. Then we can argue. But I want you to know this. I didn't hurt her. Her "Onii-chan" did.'

Dearka looked away. 'I don't care who hurt her. All I care about is she's hurt. And I'm not going to let the one that hurt her get away with it. Now, we better get back before Zala hurts himself.'

Kira forced a laugh and walked to the Freedom. And then paused. Sighing, he glanced over his shoulder. 'Dearka? Is forgetting to take the safety of a gun really that funny?'

The older boy laughed. 'To one trained in the matter, yeah, it is. Particularly since you're the one none of us managed to kill.' A genuine smile curled on Kira's lips.

'I suppose so.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Horror, utter horror. Beyond anything she'd ever felt. Not because of his face, that didn't matter. His face... wasn't hideous. It wasn't wrong. He just... looked like his father. Hell, people said she was the spitting image of her's. So what if they looked... exactly the same. So what if... he was, in essence, Al de Flagga. He had his own name, his own image, his own person. His father's twisted ness, that didn't matter.

What mattered was... was his... reaction. His hate. His anger. And in a sense... his name, le Creuset. French, "the crucible". Did he think that accurate? Did he think that right? But what's in a name, eh?

_"For this whirlpool of hatred is engulfing the universe!"_

_I guess that whirlpool engulfed you first, right, Onii-chan? I guess you feel like you're drowning in others mistakes. I guess, what happened, who you believe youself to be, what you believe yourself to be, that, that helped with the flood. And I guess you believe you had no-one there to pull you out. So everyone had to come in with you._

_But, Onii-chan. You let me become your family. And as your family, it's my duty to protect you and help you in any way I can. Because that's what families do. You scared me today, Onii-chan. I was scared. I still am. But... but you're all the family I have. So give me your hand, Onii-chan..._

'I'll pull you to safety.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Blood spilled in small rivers down his side. Consciousness was leaving him along with the metallic substance. Those hauntingly familiar eyes, that impossible blue he'd been unable to mistake. Though those eyes went deeper then his father's ever could. Tunnels leading to nowhere but darkness.

And yet that small light shining somewhere among the storm tossed darkness. A light to ward away despair. Hope among desperation. Appearing only when he looked at her.

'I'll pull you to safety.'

A sad smile curled across his lips.

_Pull who to safety, Angel? Your Onii-chan? Darkness has a strong hold on those who have lost all faith. Darkness has a strong hold on him. Hold on to long, and you may just topple yourself._

Her smile. He could see that, and her voice ringing through the darkness. Soft, yet strong.

_Darkness has a strong hold on all of us. That's part of the job. We're consumed so others don't have to be. That's why we have comrades. People who catch us when we fall to far. Would you catch him, Hawk? Would you catch your baby brother?_

He smiled as well.

_I'd catch my comrade first. The one that still had a chance_.

He heard her laugh, a soft giggle. Why he heard her in his head, he didn't know. His eyes fluttered closed. Maybe ZAFT's angel was really so close to Rau, that he could sense her as well. And maybe her innocence let her speak her thoughts in that moment.

Or maybe Ensign Joffie Wheeler really was an Angel.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Floating above them, Jay smiled. 'Ensign Joffie Wheeler is not an angel, Flagga. She is redemption.'

Well? How was it? Please review? Pretty please? And please remember, all will be explained. But if I've really really confused anyone, then I'm sorry.


	21. Chapter 21

Hi again! Yeah, I know, I haven't updated in absolutly _ages_, and I can't say sorry enough times. I hope this update cheers y'all up. And I hope y'all forgive me enough to drop a review. Speaking of which, thanks to all the amazing reviewers, you guys are the very best! I love you all, you wonderful people you.

_Special thanks go to Alyssa, who sent me so many requests for an update that I just had to. Thanks honey for helping me get my act together and my ass in gear. I guess I'm dedicating this chapter to you, you persistant, annoying saint of a plot bunny catcher you! I hope you enjoy reading this._

Chapter 21:

_Onii-chan ... Rau ... Why ..._

"Hah, that one's an easy target now!"

Her world jolted backwards, crackling rather unnervingly. She groaned, burrowing further back into her seat.

_Zack, Ni-sama ... why didn't I listen to you ... you always said I was too nice ... you always said someone would hurt me ..._

Someone was yelling. Shouting something about it being wrong to attack someone who can't even fight back. Someone who sounded far too naive. If he was a enemy, and a disabled target ... then they weren't going to let him just walk away. That was war. That was what happened. But that someone kept it up, yelling that they should just let him get the damaged MS back to the ship.

Everything around her shuddered again. He was yelling still, yelling to keep her safe. That was nice of him. That was very nice of him. She didn't know many people that nice. And this person sounded familiar ... It sounded like ...

"Kira?" she whispered, struggling to open her eye. There was no answer, only crackling of static. "Kira?" She said it louder this time, and still nothing. Her eye burst open and she straightened herself up and stared at the com frantically. No video, only the horrible sound of static.

"Kira? Kira? Kira! Answer me, damnit!" Oh, please, please don't be dead ... Don't let me have caused you to die ... God, if you really do exist, then make him not dead ... Please! "KIRA! KIRA!" She screamed the last word, panic taking hold of her system. She didn't care if she sounded like a scared, over-emotional little kid.

"Jo ... !" Kira's voice was cut off as they were both sent reeling backwards as whatever Kira had been yelling at attacked again. But he was still alive. A sigh of relief left her lips. The video opened. Kira was staring at her, face drawn and worried. She blew upwards, ruffling her sweat soaked fringe.

"Idiot! How dare you scare me like that! Anyway, what is going on? Please tell me you blocked that last attack!" Her voice was going back to normal ... that was a relief. She didn't sound like a kid anymore. Kira sighed, whether in relief, or exhaustion, or frustration, she didn't know. And when he spoke, he sounded horribly strained. His naive, childish voice did not sound right so ... well ... well, however he sounded, it sounded _wrong_!

"Yeah, I blocked. The Calamity isn't letting me back to the ship though ..."

Now it was her turn to sigh. If Kira had actually died, it would have been her fault. Her fault for ignoring every rule of combat and letting her emotions get the better of her. And because he was still holding onto her, he was still in danger. She was holding him back, forcing him to stop fighting to protect her ... just like ... just like ...

_"Jo, just keep running! I'll protect you, I promise!"_

_"Ni-sama, they have dogs! I don't like dogs!"_

_"Jo, get down, idiot!" _

_"Spock!"_

_I wasn't strong enough to protect myself, so they did it for me. And then they all ended up dying ... because I was weak then. But I'm not weak now, I've come to far to lose even one more person to this war. Kira is not dying because of me! He's NOT!_

"Kira, you need to ... WATCH IT!"

They swung past another blast. She was already fixing her restraints and checking over the Caliber. It seemed capable of putting up a fight, the damage wasn't too extensive, the power was still fairly high ... she was good.

"Kira, let me go, this guy's gonna kill you if you just fly around and dodge. I'll be alright, the Caliber's still good for a while." He was staring at her, eyes wide and confused. He looked very ready to say no. She gave him her best flyboy smile. "Come on, honey, I'm a red. I graduated in the top three at the academy. I'm the _best _of the best."

Ok, she sounded arrogant as heck. But what the hell. Kira burst out laughing. She laughed too, then she felt the jolt as Kira let her go. Grinning slightly, she pushed all thoughts of Rau to the back of her mind. Time for that later. "Oh, and Yamato, if we're gonna kick this guy's ass together ... then I'm 'Little Lady', got it!"

She caught one sight of his stunned face before the connection terminated.

_Onii-chan ... Well, don't do anything stupid, alright ..._

xXx

Flay didn't hear Rau's announcment. But she really had wanted to. She wanted to hear the rich velvet tones in his smooth, cultured voice wrap a thin blanket of comfort around her. But, all she had was a promise, a disk, and the memory of his smile. She wondered if 'Ensign Wheeler' remembered his smile. She wondered if the girl even cared.

He'd been in a panic when he'd burst back into his room. Gasping, sweating, nearly unable to breathe. And one name had been on his lips. 'Joffie Wheeler ...' He'd wanted her, he'd wanted his little sister ... The little bitch who'd abandoned him. The little bitch who'd left him with a meaningless apology, one that she hadn't even spoken herself.

_Did you realise how much he loved you? Did you realise how much you simply walking out would hurt him? Do you know ... anything?_

She stopped. And every bitter thought left her head.

_Well, at least you took the time to give some kind of apology ... Rau was right. I'm no soldier. I wore the uniform, but I'm not a soldier. But maybe now, I can put things right. Rau wanted me to end the war ... and I will. Just to show him that not everyone is willing to abandon him. _

_I just wish I could show Kira the same thing. I wish I could show Sai the same thing. I wish I could say sorry to them both ... Kira ..._

_"Tell Onii-chan I'm sorry."_ Tell Onii-chan I'm sorry. She sighed. _Tell Kira I'm sorry._

She leant back into the chair of the pod, and held her breath as it was propelled into space.

_Rau ... my saviour ... my onii-chan ..._

xXx

Kira was starting to get worried. He could hear Jo's ragged breathing over the com, he could see the massive war lord she piloted start to lose some of its speed, its power. The Caliber wasn't nuclear powered ... its energy levels must be getting critically low. And Jo herself definitely seemed to be losing her energy. Creuset's words had gotten to her. They'd gotten to him too, but he doubted it was the same thing ... he needed to get her back to the ship ...

The Calamity wasn't letting up on either of them though ... he had them both pinned down ... If he'd just managed to get her back to the ship before this whole stupid situation had begun ... if only she hadn't been so damn insistant on fighting ... if ... He was cut off from his thoughts when Jo's voice sounded over the com. It was strangely high-pitched ...

"Kira, watch you're ba ... !"

Jo's scream was cut short as all the breath left her in one harsh gush. Everyone froze as Rau's voice sounded over the com, saying something about a captive that he wished to return to the earths forces. A small one-man pod left the ZAFT ship. The battle was frozen in a tone of stunned disbelief.

"Onii-chan ..."

Jo whispered the word, suddenly sounding very lost, very confused, very young. And then she seemed to gather herself together, because the Caliber put on a huge burst of speed and raced towards the escape pod. Her movement set off the battle again ... as, just when he tried to follow, Calamity burst into life again as well. He could only watch the small speck of green rushing away from him ...

xXx

_"Onii-chan, isn't she a bit young?" _

_Onii-chan, I'm sorry, but I'm not letting you use that girl for whatever you plan on doing. She's not the 'key' to this fictional door. Why can't you see that using people is wrong? Onii-chan, I'm going to save you ... but I'm saving this girl first ..._

xXx

Flay suddenly felt very scared. Two mobile suits had started rushing towards her, weapons drawn. But ... Rau had told her everything would be alright, he'd promised her she'd be okay! Rau had promised she wouldn't be attacked! He'd promised! Tears were starting to well up in her eyes. Rau wouldn't have lied to her ... would he? Rau couldn't have been lying! He couldn't!

Her fingers found the communicator just as the two mobile suits met, and clashed. Sparks burst in front of her, and she screamed. A link patched in just as the two suits met for a second blow, the green one losing an arm. She didn't waste time moping, but started screaming into the com.

"Archangel! Archangel help me!" The words burst from her mouth as the green mobile suit pushed the black one away. Nobody responded. Nobody was listening to her. So she screamed what Rau had told her.

"I have the 'key'! The key to ending the war! I ... "

"Shut the hell up!"

The voice was female, and strangely familiar. It also sounded angry, and slightly strained. Exhausted. Weak. Yet strong. And its owner had just yelled at her to shut up!

"What?" she demanded, feeling a slight swell of anger in her chest. The voice on the other end sighed, sending a wave of static over the speaker.

"If you want to live, then you'll shut the hell up and listen to me!" The girl was yelling now, sounding more tired by the minute. "The other mobile suit will be back in a minute, he's under orders to get you. I can give him the pod, you just need to transfer over to me. I'm right outside the door."

So she was the pilot of one of those mobile suits? But, hadn't both of them rushed at her with drawn weapons? Was this girl really worth trusting?

"Where are _you _going to take me?"

"Where you want to go. To the people that you wished for just seconds ago." There was a pause, and then: "Trust me. Please ..."

Flay paused, then opened the door of the pod. There was an open cockpit in front of her, and a hand darted out and seized her upper arm. The disk slipped from her grasp as the girl none to gently pulled her into the other machine.She slammed into the girl, sitting awkwardly on her lap. She never got the chance to mention it, though. The girl was closing the cockpit door, and the door to the pod was already closed. She could only watch in horror as the pod was kicked away, and smashed into the black mobile suit head on.

She tried to talk to the girl, to tell her what she had left behind. To make the girl understand, but was duely ignored. The girl seemed to be in a panic. "Oh ... Why now! Damnit! Just give me enough power to get out of here, you stupid machine!"

She pounded the control panel, then howled in pain. Flay felt her heart sink. Everything seemed to be exploding around her. _Rau ... why couldn't you have let me stay with you forever ... _

xXx

This was bad ... Caliber was useless ... the Archangel was miles away ... a very pushy redhead had just entered her cockpit ... And now, as if things weren't bad enough, the Raider was rushing at her with 'murder' written all over it. Yep, wonderful. Just fucking wonderful! She sighed, fumbling with her communicator, trying to patch into someone.

Raider seemed intent on destroying her though, and gave her no time. Caliber's sheild split in two, and then exploded. The redhead screamed, she did too for that matter. For some reason, that seemed shockingly comforting. A slight smile crept onto her face, and she faced the Raider for the second blow.

It never came. Athrun blocked the blow just in time. Her breath left her in one huge gust of relief.

"Took your damn time!"

He never answered, but she felt the jolt as the Justice seized the Caliber by the hand, and began to drag her away. She relaxed against the seat and turned to the redhead.

"How's that for surviving!"

xXx

Jay was smiling as he watched the game come together. All the pieces were almost set. Just a little while for them all to get their bodies fixed, and then the destiny he'd set out for them would come to pass.

To Kira, the naive savior.

To Mu, the abandoned child.

To Flay, the villaness teacher.

To Rau, the tainted destroyer.

And to my redeemer. To Jo, the angel I chose to carry the destiny that lies above that of the SEED.

My little bloodstained angel, that I set to save something above the material life. May you save those with tainted bodies, and destroy those with tainted souls.

Play the roles I've set out for you, all five of you. Play the roles and save me. Jo, play your role and save me.

Play your role and save ... my brother.

My redeemer, my angel ... my sweet little fairy with an apple in the snow.

xXx

Well? Well? Cough up the reviews and I promise I'll try to update sooner, maybe with some more explanations. I do believe I've raised more questions then I've answered, but where the would the fun be if everything was explained so soon. Well, I hope y'all enjoyed!


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